› streets

[ Death Scene part II ]

White.
His mind was brought back to the memory of soft white fur..to the only person he recently realized that his heart had fallen for.
Youngji, the person who had captivated his little heart. The one he had risked his life for, the one who had given him happiness even though it only lasted for a very short moment.
It was unfortunate for him that he hadn’t even gotten the chance to tell her how much she means to him.
How much he loves her.
But one way or another, he would forever cherish all the pleasant memories she had given him. He was thankful, of ever having her stepping into his life.

....
Now his vision somehow returned, and the white color had spread into a wide, endless surroundings. He couldn’t see anything else except a very familiar figure of an older man standing before him.

“..Brother?”

The man was wearing very graceful white shirt, making him look angelic than ever. The man was smiling, a caring beautiful smile ever, as he put his hand out to him, “Daehyun, you’re here...”
It was the moment when Daehyun finally realized that he had been kneeling down the whole time, and as he took his brother’s hand to help him stand, he realized that he was also clad in a white, clean buttoned shirt.

The elder immediately pulled him into an embrace, surrounding him with the most comforting warmth ever, “You did a great job.. I am so proud of you, my brother.”

As Daehyun tightened his arms against his older brother, he felt wetness slightly ruining his own eyes, “Hyung, please… let me go with you.”

….
“Daehyun… Son, wake up! Please!” The middle aged officer screamed in fear and despair, his thick hands shaking the slightly smaller bodied, as tears heavily drenched down his cheeks. “Please…”
The tears were gone as soon as they formed, dissolving into the swift rain. But the sharp emotional pain only remained in him like parasites..

A gasp left the older officer as he felt Daehyun’s fingers weakly held onto his. Faintly, he could hear him whispering low, “I saw my brother..” and even though it was dark, he could see a small weary smile forming on the younger’s lips… as if he had found happiness, finally.
As a small drop of tear left the corner of Daehyun’s eye, the young police officer finally exhaled his very last breath.
All the pains he had finally vanished, as his last tear dissolved into the rain.

[ Death Scene part I ]

That night seemed to be much darker than usual, rainstorm heavily raging from the dull moonless sky. Loud voices could be heard from a supposedly very quiet streets of Seoul, as tonight’s police raid literally brought chaos. The gang who had been known for their massive drugdealing was caught redhanded, doing the illegal transactions—and now they were fighting back against the police force. Unfortunately the police force was greatly outnumbered.

...
Still in his fighting stance, his eyes—as dark as stray wolf’s stared up at his opponents, two female gangsters. They were really strong fighters, definitely way too strong for him that it’s almost impossible to defeat them. One was hard enough, and two were definitely too much.
After wiping the dark red blood that formed a line out of the corner of his lips, driven by the urge to survive the battle, he barged forward to them, trying to counter every attack that was continuously being thrown at him.

But they were too fast for him, their speed was nearing impossible to catch up to. Soon another heavy jabs landed right on his abdomen, more blood immediately spurted out from his plump lips. And soon a heavy kick landed right across his face, slapping him harsh—as well as forcing him to stumble to the wall. His arms reflexively held—supporting himself onto a dumpbin, trying to regain his composure... Because he knew he had to survive this battle.

One of the females went closer, and before he could notice what she was holding—he felt a very hard matter being thrown across his face. And soon a loud glass—cracking sound beamed in the air. Apparently the female gangster had struck the young cop’s head with a wine bottle—taken from out of nowhere, and the lower part bottle was broken due to the damage, leaving the upper half, with very sharp tips.

Suddenly, a large sharp stinging pain struck him by the stomach—and it took him a moment to finally realized that one of the female opponents before him, stabbed him with the sharp tip of the broken bottle.

That moment a very loud sirene sounded in the air, hinting that the police department had sent reinforcements. Sounds of the cars’ engine echoed in the air.
But he could almost hear nothing else..but his own heavy breaths. His body suddenly became so weak, too weak for him to even support on his own, and he fell right on his knees to the wet ground.

Faint sound of gunshots surrounded him all of a sudden. A middle aged officer barged to where he was, and immediately shot the two female gangsters down.
It was his ‘father’ at the police department, he came—running to save his ‘son’s’ life but he was..late.

“Daehyun... No..” The officer called, holding onto the younger officer’s body, tears immediately filled the corners of his eyes as he was thrown back to his past..when he was holding his dying real son. He couldn’t bear to experience the losing again right now. He couldn’t.

The younger officer’s weakened eyes stared up to the elder’s, letting out a tired smile, as if he was trying to cheer the latter up despite what great pain he was going through. His vision became blurry, and blurrier and blurrier... he could see white spots started invading his eyes.

[post deleted by owner]

@[Cop] Clara Lee *.shakes my head*
N-no I cant...I don't have a choice on who is my sir
* looks over at you*

@[G.D. Pet Tiger] Bang Minah *hears you and frowns, sighs shaking my head*
I-I'm sorry to hear that, I know what that feels like.
*pats your head gently*
I don't know who he is, but I know you could find someone better.

@[Cop] Clara Lee * fiddles with my fingers nervously*
B-but.....my sir never says I love you back.....for all I know he could only want to use me for his needs
* fidgets *

@[G.D. Pet Tiger] Bang Minah *sighs softly and nods, flashes you a smile*
It's okay.
*turns the corner and stops at a stop light*
*reaches my hand over and softly pets your hair*

@[Cop] Clara Lee ( lol it's fine)

* frowns thinking*
I-I can't tell you...
* bites my lip*

@[G.D. Pet Tiger] Bang Minah (This is super late sorry)

*pouts attempting to be cute and glances at you*
C'mon. Tell me. I can keep a secret.

@[B.E. Polar Fox] Heo Youngji Even though her palms were a bit cold, when they touched his cheeks so tenderly, he felt something warmth bursting in him. Her beautiful smile only made his own to form, his hand unknowingly lifted onto hers. As seconds passed when their eyes met, he was starting to realize that that he had gotten used of her touches, and probably she also had gotten used of his. He had no idea since when they could freely show affection(?) toward each other, but now he couldn't be more contented. A scary thought appeared at the end, that probably it was only himself who felt this way.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when her hands left his cheeks. His eyes followed her to his bed, cheeks once again reddened at the mere imagination of them laying next to each other for the night.
Trying to not look too hesitant or too eager, Daehyun slowly approached the bed soon as she patted the empty spot beside her. Even though he wasn't a big bodied man, he wasn't sure whether the single bed would fit them both.

Laying himself next to her, he tried to not take not too much space and leave some for her. It indeed fit, but his side was right on the edge.
The first seconds became so awkward, especially that Daehyun (and probably Youngji as well) tried to leave some small distance between them. It felt so uncomfortable, so the idea of coming closer and hold her suddenly came to mind--but on the second thought, he didn't want her to think of him the wrong way.

"Well.. Honestly it would be more comfortable if we.." Heat returned to his cheeks--he must looked as red as a rusted crab now. "...if we stay closer," the young male hesitantly turned to the side, looking up to find her blue eyes--attempting to see how would she respond to that.

@[Cop in Training] Jung Daehyun "I see." Nodding slowly, Youngji stepped aside, so that Daehyun could move past her into the kitchen. She was glad that he hadn't seem to know that she was still awake (mostly because of him) yet at the same time it was a bit...disappointing? Was she the only one who was thinking about so many things that she couldn't fall asleep? It was ridiculous to even think it, but she just couldn't help it.

Also, she didn't know why she hadn't even moved an inch away from the doorframe, waiting for him to return to her side. During the time he had been in the kitchen, she could have easily moved back to the couch. but no, here she was, in front of his bedroom door, that was now pushed open. Her eyes widened when she heard his proposal, staring at the male with shock but when she saw the exact same expression on Daehyun's face, Youngji knew that he probably had no ill intentions. Like always he was just trying to be nice...at least it was what she thought. Of course she couldn't know for sure what he had in mind...but seeing him that flustered was just adorable.

Slightly tiptoeing, Youngji reached out for him, her cold hands carefully cupping his hot cheeks as she shyly smiled at him. "It's okay...It's better for you to stay in bed since sitting will only cause more pressure on your ribs." She actually didn't really mind, after all she had spent the last night in the same room with him. And she also trusted him enough to be sure that he wouldn't try to do anything inappropiate to her. Letting go of his cheeks, Youngji walked past him, heading straight towards the bed. For a moment she stopped, staring at it, wondering if it was big enough for the two of them.

Pushing back the thought, Youngji just hopped onto the bed, the blanket loosely wrapped around her shoulders. Moving to the farest side of the bed she patted the spot next to her, indicating for Daehyun to move back into the bed. "Come on."

@[B.E. Polar Fox] Heo Youngji When the blanket moved, it immediately stole his eyes' attention--and soon he caught the sight of her clear white skin around her collarbone. His eyes almost unconsciously ascended to her neck, following the line of her shape until he reached her eyes again. Realizing that he had been staring for quite some time already, the male felt heat rushing to his cheeks, as he immediately averted his gaze elsewhere.

When she continued speaking to him, his eyes were forced to stare into hers again--looking even more obvious that he was nervous, which made it feel awkward. "Well, I'm just about to get some drink," he stated, walking his way to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. After gulping the water all up, the male wiped his mouth and immediately returned to the door of his bedroom. He opened it before her and led the way in, "Well, you can sleep on my bed if you want,"

Realizing that he had said something so awkward and ambiguous, his eyes immediately widened, red tints colored his cheeks--. Aside from the fact that he might sound inappropriate for her, a clear image of the two of them laying on the same bed suddenly ruined his mind. Heat continued pooling around his cheeks, as his imagination started picturing himself and her holding one another on the bed.

Hastily shaking his head to kick the inappropriate thoughts off, "I mean... I mean I don't mind sleeping somewhere else..." Daehyun immediately said, hoping that his blush would fade, "Or maybe I'll stay here and we can talk until you fall asleep?"

@[Cop in Training] Jung Daehyun The moment she pressed her ear against the door, Youngji could hear the sound of bed sheets being pushed back before heavy footsteps echoed through the door. Her eyes widened as she realized that Daehyun was heading towards the door. Quickly letting to of the door knob, Youngji moved back a step before the door in front of her flung open, giving her sight on the male. Another step backwards to give him enough space to step out of his room, before she finally looked up at him, curiously watching his face. Had he known that she was at the other side of the door? Or was there another reason for him to be awake? Before she could ask him, he already directed questions towards her.

"No...nothing." Softly, she shook her head, the blanket that was wrapped around her shoulders slightly sliding down on one side, revealing bits of milky white skin. "It's just...i can't fall asleep." Her eyes once again were searching for his chocolate brown orbs, staring right into them. "I just thought if you're still awake...we could talk or do something together." By now her cheeks had turned a deeper shade of pink, the heat slowly crawling up her neck to her ears. If not for the white fur, Youngji was sure that her ears would have been as red as tomatos.

In the end she had to force herself to avert her gaze from his eyes, knowing that if she kept on staring at him the embarrassement would only grow. She just wanted to hide her face, but then again it would have only seem weirder so in the end she just stood there, her hands tightly holding onto the blanket, as her eyes moved down from his eyes to feet. Although she hadn't really paid attention, at least not consciously, she still regristrated how the navy blue tank top gave sight on his muscular arms, how the shorts complimented his well trained legs. Another picture appeared in her mind, the sight of his muscular chest right in front of her, making the blush to reappear on her cheeks. Why was she even thinking about that? She must have lost her mind.

Clearing , Youngji kept her eyes down on the ground, careful to not look anywhere that would cause weird thoughts again. "So...why are you not sleeping?"

@[B.E. Polar Fox] Heo Youngji The moment he spoke to her, he turned around only to find her standing close to his punching bag. His eyebrows slightly lifted, watching how she seemed to be surprised(?) before later hasted back to his side. Hadn't she seen any punching bag before? She looked almost like a curious little girl if he may say, and now the way her cheeks tinted pink only made her look even more adorable.
Deciding to just keep the whole thing to himself, the young male didn't say anything about it and gave his clothes to her anyway.

...
When she was out of the room, the male sighed as his eyes snapped to where his tall punching bag was. Tonight seemed like he had to sleep without training, which would feel strange to him. Normally he would spend around twenty or fifteen minutes for some workouts before going to sleep, but due to his condition--and the way the doctor told him--he had to skip them all.

He had replaced his clothes with a pair of shorts, and a slightly loose navy blue tank--and soon laid himself on his bed. It took a while for him until light sleep engulfed him, random dreams started flashing on his mind.
But in the end, a clear scene of Youngji bothered his sleep. He saw her stepping out of his flat without looking back, without saying goodbye, leaving him on his bed. The last dream shook him off his sleep, and as he opened his eyes--he only saw the same scenery of his bedroom.

He could only hear his heavy heartbeat, as if he was forcefully awakened by someone--and the next thing he felt was small dull pain rushing through his chest. His eyebrows twitched as he got off the bed, and he walked to the door--contemplating whether he should take another painkiller or just drink a lot of water to refresh himself (since the paim was not unbearable after all).

Just after he spun the knob, the young officer pulled the door open only to find Youngji. That moment he immediately remembered what he had told her before, that she may knock on his door if she needed anything. "You're not sleeping yet?" He randomly questioned, closing the door behind him, "You need anything?"

[post deleted by owner]

@[Cop in Training] Jung Daehyun By now Youngji had become used to the fact that whenever Daehyun wanted her to go anywhere with him, the male would immediately grab her wrist and pull her along. Once again she was convinced that the young cop was someone who liked to be in control. Not that it bothered her since she was the passive type anyway, but she knew that in the future there would be a lot of conflicts coming up to the male because of that character trait.

Following him into his room, Youngji took the chance to take a closer look at it, realizing that although she had spent the whole night in there, she hadn't really taken notice of anything. Only now she noticed a longish bag hanging from the ceiling in one corner of the room. Since Daehyun had let go of her wrist by then, busy with looking through the stacks of clothes in his wardrobe, Youngji took her chance to walk up to that bag thing, wondering why he would have something like that in his bedroom. Once she stood in front of it, her eyes curiously looked it up and down before she slowly lifted her hand, cautiously reaching out.

Her ears perked up when she heard his voice behind her, immediately pulling her hand back and moving back to his side, her cheeks slightly flushed as if she was caught doing something she shouldn'T have done. Although it was ridiculous since she hadn't done anything wrong...unless Daehyun didn't like his stuff being touched. Clearing , Youngji then reached out for the clothes, a tiny, almost invisible smile on her lips. "It's ok. Thank you Daehyun." With that she rushed out of his room, the wooden door closing behind her with a soft click.

Moving back to the living room, the female hybrid took a look at his clothes. The shirt looked fine, maybe a bit too large on the shoulders but that didn't really matter. It was only for sleeping purposes so the bigger and more comfortable, the better. As for his shorts...she didn't really like any kind of trousers. There was a reason why she always wore dresses and skirts as they gave her enough room for her tail. Although she could wear trousers, she could only pull them up to below her tail, giving her the feeling that they could slide down any moment, definitely not comfortable.

After changing into the shirt, Youngji settled down on his couch, her clothes neatly folded at the end of the couch. Closing her eyes, she tried to fall asleep but her mind was too awake, thousands of thoughts running through her mind. She blamed her surroundings for her restlessness as every unfamiliar sound made her ears perk up, searching for the source. She didn't know how much time had passed since she had closed her eyes, but Youngji was sure that she wouldn't be able to get any sleep that night. Her eyes fluttered open as she sat up, the blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she stood up and moved towards his room. It was a sudden impulse but she immediately stopped when her hand was already on the door knob. What if he was already asleep? Holding in her breath, Youngji pressed her ear against the door, trying to figure out if the male was sleeping or not. If he did she wouldn't want to bother him.

@[B.E. Polar Fox] Heo Youngji When she let her very first request out, Daehyun couldn't help but widened his eyes as he finally realized that he had missed one important thing. She surely didn't come to his house prepared, so of course she wouldn't have anything to replace her dress with. He was starting to question himself how could he not realize such thing.

"Ah yeah, you're right--come here," with that the male immediately tugged her by the wrist, leading the way back to his room.
As they reached his dark brown wardrobe, Daehyun opened it--revealing some stacks of clothes. He eventually released her hand and started searching through the stacks he had. Finding her a proper cloth was not easy--even though he wasn't large bodied, his size would definitely be bigger than her.

Finally he pulled out a plain white shirt, and gave it to her, "I'm sorry I have no women clothes in here--hope this one's okay." As for the lower cloth, he found a pair of gray shorts--the shortest pair of shorts he ever had. "Well, I've never wore it anymore because it's too short--maybe it would suit you,"
After handing her the clothes, he patted her by the shoulder, "Go change yourself,"

As he climbed up to his own bed, his mind started wandering somewhere. For her, his clothes might do--for now, but if he really wanted her to stay here longer, he should get her something more.. proper. Maybe he should go back to her warehouse?

@[Cop in Training] Jung Daehyun It wasn't that she didn't like the room, nor did she found that it didn't seem comfortable. Just...she felt like an intruder, like she didn't belong here. As long as Daehyun wasn't able to let go of his brother, this room would always belong to the older male. That he still kept everything as it was inside this room, from the bed sheets to the photo frames, that he still tidied up although his brother would never come back again, it all showed her that Daehyun was still clinging onto his brother.

"It's just..." But how was she supposed to explain all her thoughts to him without making him mad. She was certain that either he would deny it or get angry at her for pointing out the obvious truth that he couldn't see. But she couldn't help him in this matter, knowing that if he still didn't want to let go of his older brother, then noone could persuade him. "It's nothing...I'm just weird."

Her breath hitched when she felt his face coming closer to hers, her eyes staring right into his dark brown orbs, searching for an answer to her unspoken question. Why did he do that? He was so dangerously close to her, their lips only inches apart. If she moved forward just a bit...she was sure that their lips would have met. But before her thoughts could get any more tangled up in desire, fear, remorse, Daehyun already pulled back, leaving her some space to breath. Uncontiously she had been holding in her breath the whole time, now slowly letting out a soft sigh of relief.

Just for a second her heart stopped beating when she felt the soft kiss on her forehead. Looking up in surprise, Youngji stared at the young cop, once again searching his eyes for a reason. But like always, she didn't find her answer. Deciding to just brush it off, Youngji replied with a whispered "Goodnight" before she suddenly remembered something. Reaching out for his sleeve, the female grabbed hold of the fabric, stopping him from walking out of the room. "Actually...there's something I need." Letting go of him she then pointed at her dress, the one she had worn since yesterday. "Since I haven't been home i don't have any spare clothes...can you lend me something else I can sleep in?"

@[B.E. Polar Fox] Heo Youngji Once again her words had confused him. What did she mean by 'feeling not right'? Maybe she disliked the room? Daehyun knew well that being a special girl Youngji is, there's no way she would feel uncomfortable by how the surroundings look like. But then why should she even feel 'not right' in his brother's room? Or was it just a way to find excuse to leave him? Too soon?
Youngji actually had already stayed for a night and a day with him in his flat, but because of how much she means to him--no matter how many time had passed, her time of leaving would always be 'too soon' for Daehyun.

Just before more negative thoughts flood his mind, she let another words out, which left him breathing in relief. So she wasn't trying to leave him--and even though the idea of her not wanting to stay in his brother's room still bothered him, he decided to let it slide. Nonetheless, he managed to say, "Why though?"
But whatever it is, Daehyun wouldn't mind, as long as she would stay. It would normally weird for normal girls to prefer sleeping at the couch than on the bed--but since the first time he knew her she had proven that she wasn't normal. And that's one of those many things--Daehyun recently realized--that had intrigued him somehow.

"Fine... As long as you're feeling comfortable--don't hesitate to knock my door though," the young male slightly grinned, "In case you need anything,"
As their eyes were on each other, one heavy breath left him as he remembered what happened the night before. A moment of silence passed by, his eyes slowly fell on her lips--as the urge of kissing her suddenly appeared. He was almost absenminded as his face leaned closer to hers--but stopped right as their lips were barely an inch apart. He remembered how she pulled away that night, how she didn't seem to enjoy their kiss.

That tiny, annoying pang, ..finally returned.

But as Daehyun leaned away, he remembered the end of the previous night, how she kissed him goodnight on the cheek--which had left his heart confused. The urge somehow reawakened and grew stronger, but he tried to fight it back. He only took a moment to softly kissed her forehead, sighing as he pulled away, his hand raised to brush her hair once.
"Goodnight Youngji-ah... Sleep tight," he whispered, before standing up to leave the room.

@[Cop in Training] Jung Daehyun "I see..." She could only guess how much his older brother could have meant to him by comparing it to her relationship with Youngjae. The two of them had been close and Youngjae had always been the one to protect her and to show her little tricks in fighting, like how she could effectively use her smaller build and her lighter weight to defend herself. When thinking about it like that then she would have said that the male hybrid had been some kind of brother to her. Loosing him was sad, but since they weren't blood relatives there was only a small gap in her heart. If he had been her real brother though...Youngji couldn't imagine how much it would have hurt her when he had died there on the streets.

Her thoughts wandered back to the dark street, the flickering lamp far away, the two males fighting in the shadows, their heavy breathing echoing through the alleyway. If...just hypothetical...if Youngjae had been her real brother, would she have been able to sit here like this with Daehyun? Probably not. Although it would have seemed harsh, but in the end, Youngji was glad that Youngjae and her weren't real siblings.

Her eyes widened when she heard Daehyun beside her talking, proposing to her that she could stay the night in this room. He already had offered it to her two nights ago and back then she had refused, feeling that although she felt comfortable around him, the two of them weren'T close enough for her to stay in the same apartment for a night. But since then things had changed, so many things had happened and she had already stayed by his side the previous night. Did it make any difference if she agreed this time?

Her eyes wandered around the room for a last time before she got up on her feet. Turning towards Daehyun she gave him an apologetical smile. "I'm sorry Daehyun but I can't stay in this room...it feels...not right." She knew that he only wanted to be nice but she didn't feel comfortable to stay in the room of his deceased brother, the person Daehyun had probably cherished the most in his life. It was fine for her with Daehyun by her side, but imagining herself alone in this room at night...it gave her chills. "I'll just take the couch in your living room." Or any other place. She wasn't really picky when it came to a sleeping place, knowing that even a seemingly cold and hard floor was no pronlem for her if she decided to change into her fox form.

@[B.E. Polar Fox] Heo Youngji "Yes, he was," the male gave her a nod, as he gazed back to the picture of them together, "he taught me so many things," with that, for the split second he was thrown back to the past. His brother was his role model--his teacher, and parent at the same time, for he was the only one he had.
"Although if he were here now you would see him bully me all the time," lowly chuckling at his own playful words, he reached for the photoframe and brought it closer. It took several moments of silence, for him to look at his brother's face. It's been really a while since he's gone, yet Daehyun still often found himself missing the elder.

It was then when Daehyun suddenly realized that he hadn't really told Youngji the real purpose of introducing her to the room. "Ah almost forgot," the young male shook his head, before pulling the small drawer of the nightstand out and put the photo frame in it.

After pushing it back, he turned at Youngji--who was next to him, "You can sleep here for the night," That moment he realized that he just unknowingly forced her to stay with him longer. Would she want it though? Maybe staying with him for a day was enough for her--but definitely not for his selfish little self. He didn't want her to leave just yet--just a little longer would do. Maybe she would be confused or annoyed, since just yesterday he asked her to stay /at least for one night/. And now he wanted her to stay for one more.
"Well..." He stared deeply into her blue warming eyes, as anxiety started bothering him inside, "...stay with me ...please?" The last word was quite hesitant, as he could feel his face growing warmer.

@[Cop in Training] Jung Daehyun Time seemed to pass quickly although they mostly spent it in silence. The porridge was long gone, the dishes were washed and soon again they were silently sitting across the kitchen table, each of them seemingly lost in their own thoughts. In Youngji's case, she was thinking about what she should do next. Like how she had wanted to, she had prepared him something to eat, his refrigerator was filled and he had seen the doctor so actually there was not much left for her to do. A quick glance outside the window showed her that the day had almost passed. Though she didn't really wanted to leave him, Youngji knew that she shouldn't be staying at his place for another night.

As if he had been reading her mind, Daehyun suddenly got up, coming closer to her before he grabbed her wrist, pulling her along. The night before she had passed by the room but didn't dare to take a look inside without his permission. Turning towards Daehyun, her eyes lingered on his face for a few seconds, carefully analyzing and taking in the sad look in his eyes. He had mentioned his brother before and even then Youngji had sensed that it was a topic that he didn't really like to talk about. Seeing the forced smile on his face only strenghtened her guess.

Her eyes followed his gaze when he stared at a photo frame, which showed two males. It was easy to tell which of them Daehyun was so her eyes lingered a moment longer on the person beside him. They resembled each other. Maybe when Daehyun was getting older he would look like that she wondered but pushed the thought back when he spoke up to her. Thinking about it for a moment, Youngji decided to settle down beside him, her hands neatly folded on her lap as she let her eyes wander around the room. It was indeed tidier and she could only guess how much the older male could have meant to Daehyun.

"It's a nice room...your brother...was he a nice person?"

@[B.E. Polar Fox] Heo Youngji When he noticed that she didn't respond to the egg as he expected to, he clicked his tongue, "Yah, you no fun," Daehyun said--playfully of course--, as he shrugged his shoulders and returned his focus to the lined ingredients. Of course he knew she wouldn't freak out at the egg--who in the right mind would anyway--but he was expecting her to at least make a playful expression, or giggle, or anything instead of giving him weird look. Oh well.

...
He had lost track, of how long time had passed since they ate the porridge together. His ribs had started bothering him since the cooking session a while ago, but thanks for the painkillers he could tame them now. Peeking through the window, he could see the sky glowing in orange and purple-- hinting that evening could come anytime now. That simply reminded him. She needed a place to sleep.

"Youngji-ah," the male approached her, "I'm going to show you something."
Not wanting to take no answer--as always--he held her arm by the wrist and pulled her. He led her to a bedroom right next to his own. The room was neatly arranged--much neater than his own, because rarely anyone ever used it anymore.

"This room... Once belonged to my brother," soft sigh left him, as he eyed the surroundings--trying to shove away those negative, annoying pang that suddenly appeared somewhere beneath his chest. It was weird that he always felt the same thing whenever he stepped into the room--even though in fact he often entered it. Small chuckle left him as he shook his head, not wanting to look weak in front of his guest before letting out some playful words, "Don't be surprised at how neat it is compared to mine, it's been a while since anyone lived here,--but don't worry I just cleaned it few days ago so no-dust guaranteed~"

The young cop released her hand afterwards, as he walked towards the white brown themed single bed. Sitting down on the edge, his dark brown eyes gazed around the surrounding as if he was a stranger in the room. The atmosphere in it was just (always) so foreign for him--even though years had passed, the fact that his brother was no longer there.. was still too foreign for him to accept.
His eyes fell on the small photo frame upon the brown nightstand, with a portrait of himself and his brother--few years before he was murdered. They were on playful position, the brother's arm was slung around the younger's shoulders, both had wide grin on their faces. Despite the playful pose, the brother looked matured--compared to Daehyun's who really resembled a kid even though he's already around his 16yrs old. They were both so young back then.. and happy.

Realizing that he had been lost in his thoughts too long, he stared up at Youngji, immediately formed a small grin on his face, "Come on, make yourself comfortable,"

@[Cop in Training] Jung Daehyun To be able to see him smile like that and joking around, it was more than Youngji had hoped for. After what happened during nighttime she had thought that Daehyun would become more reserved towards her, but she was glad he didn't. Although she didn't quite agree with him saying that two were better than one, the female decided to keep it to herself. Even if he probably didn't say it with any intentions, but Youngji knew that in the end the male was indicating that being together was better than alone. Only...in her opinion it only applied to human, while she herself as a hybrid was probably better off with keeping to herself. But it was just another thing he didn't need to know and she wouldn't want to spoil his mood by telling him.

"Did I?" Taking a look at the ingredients lied in front of her, Youngji wondered if he really didn't eat that much or if she was just an heavy eater. Although being a carnivore, the female hybrid still preferred eating vegetables, leading into her buying a lot of greens. "I just thought that I should at least buy enough food for both of us for the next few days..." Turning back to the food, she started rearranging them, slightly pushing them around as she pondered if she might have become burdensome to Daehyun by just deciding to go grocery shopping like that without even asking what kind of food he liked.

There were only a few things that could startle her, having something cold touch her wasn't one of those. Bein a polar fox hybrid, the female had the advantage of being able to lower her body temperature by several degrees to keep her from freezing as well as to save energy. So when the cold egg touched her cheek she only slightly turned her head towards his direction, her eyes giving him a questioning look. Although for anyone else his actions would have seem odd, when seeing the childish grin on his face, she just shrugged it off, knowing that he was just trying to fool around with her. "Whatever you want." Giving him a tiny smile, Youngji then turned back to the rearranged line of ingredients, carefully reaching out for the chicken.

She was already busy with preparing the chicken to cook it when her fox ears perkedup at the sound of a soft moan. Even without looking, Youngji could tell that it came from the male at her back. She could have asked him to go back into his bedroom to take a rest, but after spending some time with Daehyun, she had figured out that the male had quite an ego that would always make him try to act manly. So instead she just ignored it, focusing back on cleaning the chicken. Just occasionally her eyes wandered to the male, watching him from the corners of her eyes.

"It's quite easy to macke rice porridge ith chicken though...Just cook the chicken and then we'll use the water for the porridge." While preparing the ingredients, Youngji gave small comments, explaining on how to prepare the stuff for the porridge.

@[B.E. Polar Fox] Heo Youngji Just as the two entered the kitchen, he heard the girl speaking--pointing out one of the common idioms. Low chuckles left his lips, almost mimicking hers as he led the way towards the countertop. "Not too much," he spoke, "You know why we got two hands and two feet? That's because 'Two Is Better Than One'." with that he lifted his free hand and pointed his two fingers up. More chuckles left him after such a lame joke he just made.

While waiting for the girl preparing all the stuffs she just bought, the male opened the fridge and took a bottled water. He took few large gulps while keeping his eyes watching her creating a line of ingredients. "Whoa you bought a lot," he commented, slightly wiping his mouth after the drink and approached her. When she announced what she's going to make--and that she couldn't make anything more complicated, he only chuckled and said, "It's okay, I'm up for anything really." All those years of living, Daehyun had been known for his big appetite--that even though he has his favorites, he's actually fine with any kind of food as long as they're edible.

"But I never made a chicken porridge before, tell me how," the male walked closer to the countertop, scanning over the line of ingredients. With a playful smile on his face, he took one cold chicken egg--seemed like they just came out of refrigerated case. Daehyun playfully pressed one of them on Youngji's cheek--trying to surprise her with the coldness of the shell--before grinning childishly at her, "...love eggs, let's boil them up shall we?"

Placing the egg back to it's place, the male opened his high kitchen cabinet to take out his old boiling pan. It's been really a while since he last used it for instant ramyun, so he might need to rinse the dusts with water first. When he tried to reach the pan and take it, his chest unknowingly stretched and a sharp pain suddenly rammed over his fractured rib area. Small nearly inaudible moan immediately slipped out, one arm dropped--pressing on his pained part. Seemed like the fractured part moved in a wrong way, either that the pain crossed the painkiller's limit--or the painkiller's effect had worn off. Slightly gritting his teeth, Daehyun tiptoed and grabbed the pan down quick, wishing that the girl wouldn't notice.

@[Cop in Training] Jung Daehyun As soon as the male shortened the gap between their faces, Youngji knew that his anger had already faded. "Rather than relieving tempers my food will probably only increase them." The corners of her lips curled up in a tiny grin, the playful side she had showed him the night before slowly awakening. For now she just wanted to push the negative thoughts back. She would have to deal with them once it was time for her to leave his side, but until then she would try her best to make Daehyun feel good so that she would have no regrets.

Giving him a suspicious look, Youngji wondered if it was okay for letting him help her in the kitchen. She knew that he had probably gotten some painkillers. But still, wouldn't it be better for him to rest. At least for the first few days. After he had collapsed yesterday night she doubted that he was already fit enough, but then again she couldn't really know. Maybe he was tougher than she thought...still she decided to keep an eye o him. Just in case if he was just acting to be fine to keep her from worrying.

Too deep in her thoughts, Youngji only noticed his hand reaching out for hers when he already pulled her along into the kitchen. It took her a second to start moving, resulting into a slight stumble. Catching her balance, Youngji let out a soft laughter, before she followed him into the kitchen. "I guess so...but isn't there a saying 'Too many cooks spoil the brooth?" Not that it actually bothered her that Daeyhun wanted them to cook together. In fact, it even had something thrilling, exciting. Up until now, Youngji had rarely cooked and if she did, she had mainly been in the woods, cooking on an open fireplace since she couldn't draw any attention towards the warehouse by turning the electricity on.

Once they reached the kitchen, the female hybrid carefully placed the shopping bag onto the kitchen counter, her hands already busying themselves by taking the ingredients she had bought out of the bag and neatly placing them on a line on the kitchen counter. She wasn't neccessarily a neat freak, but still she preferred things to be in order. "I was thinking about cooking rice porridge with chicken...I can't really cook anything more complicated to be honest."

@[B.E. Polar Fox] Heo Youngji Her next action was totally unexpected, when she moved closer to him. His eyes slightly widened at the surprise, but truth to be told, he secretly liked them to be this close.
When her soft hand lifted up and touched his cheek, that warm feeling once again bursted in his chest. He didn't hold himself this time, his hand lifted up to her forearm--slowly sliding up to her hand on his face. The male let his thumb caress the back of her hand, his other fingers gently pressed on her palm as his eyes watched her beautiful face when she started speaking.

Her attempt to make him food was a bit surprising, not that he didn't appreciate that of course, it's just he didn't know she would ever think about it. His fridge, that made sense. At his first years of living alone he did cook for himself and had lots of supplies--but then somehow he ended up buying cheap homemade-foods on the streets and barely ever cooked for himself ever since. And for the second thought, can she even cook?
He quickly shrugged the question though. Maybe she can, despite where she lived and who she was. Cooking skills usually came naturally for girls, which was one of the countless things he never understands about them.

The young cop let her hand go as she pulled it away, and what she did next drew a small giggle out of him. It was adorable, the way she tried to examine his face like a curious little girl.
"Well... depends," he said, leaning closer to the shorter female, "Like you said I'm hungry now, and it is said that food can relieve tempers,"

"Are you going to cook for me Youngji-ah?" at his own question, an idea suddenly came to mind. Rather than waiting for her to cook for him like a wife (he slightly fluttered at the thought), wouldn't it be more fun if they cook together?
"Maybe it's better if I accompany you... Been a while since I last cooked," he said, trying to be casual to her and took her hand that was playing with her dress. Slightly pressing on her soft hand--like a kid tugging his friend out to play--he pulled her towards the kitchen.

"Two people cooking is better than one, right?"

@[Cop in Training] Jung Daehyun The moment she entered the apartment, Youngji could already see the disappointed look on Daehyun's face as well as a spark of relief when their eyes met. Although his voice was soft when he responded to her, the female could still sense the suppressed anger and fear and automatically she went into a defensive mode, just like a kid knowing that it was about to get scolded. Her lips were tightly pressed on each other, forming a thin line as her expression started to turn into a sullen one, a tiny forwn visible on her forehead. He had no right to get angry at her like that. Although he had told her to stay at his place, it wasn't that she belonged to him that she had to follow his orders. There was only one person whose orders she would follow, no matter how ridiculous they were. But that was another story.

As the anger faded from his face, Youngji knew that she couldn't stay angry at him either. Letting out a soft sigh, the female hybrid finally started to move, slowly approaching the male in front of her until only a few inches kept them apart. Pushing back the annoyance she had felt earlier, Youngji looked up into his face, carefully observing his expression as her free hand moved up, her fingertips gently caressing his cheek.

"It's okay...I'm sorry too...I should have stayed inside like you asked me to...just..." For a moment she kept silent, slowly letting out her breath as she lowered her gaze. "I wanted to be of some help for you so I thought you would probably be hungry once you returned home. But then there was nothing in your fridge so I went out to the supermarket." Maybe she should have left back a note, but it was already too late. It had already happened and she knew that she had probably disappointed him...once again. Slowly her eyes moved up, cautiously searching his face for any signs of remaining anger. "Are you still angry?" Her voice was almost childlike, filled with insecurity and guilt as her hand fell back to her side, her fingertips nervously twirling around the hem of her dress.

@[B.E. Polar Fox] Heo Youngji He waited for her soft voice to respond, getting more impatient as seconds go. It really didn't take long for him to finally realized that he's not going to get any response, and the fear--that he just shoved away a moment ago--returned in much greater power. "Youngji-ah..!" he started opening the doors he had in his small flat--like a boy fearing that his parents would leave him home alone-- desperately wishing she would be in one of the rooms. His heart was beating hard under his ribs, and if it wasn't for the doctor's decent painkillers, the pain would get worsen by now--that he was feeling really anxious.

Even though he already knew that it was wrong to expect her to stay with him after what had happened--his little selfish ego kept on denying the fact that she would leave. It was then when he finally stopped the pointless search, stopping right behind his brownish couch. His hands rested on the comfy back, trying to bear with the huge pang of disappointment and sadness--deep in his heart. She's nowhere to be found. She had left him.
A sigh came from him, her name once again came out through his lips--with a weak tone.

The moment he sensed the door being pushed open, the hope that almost died in him started to spark again--forcing him to turn to where the front door was. When he saw her face, her figure standing before the door something warm immediately bursts in his chest, waves of relief finally relaxed his tensed nerves. Countless of emotions started flashing through his face as she spoke, noticing that she looked as if she just sprinted(?). Where was she?

"I told you to stay," his voice came out, trying to keep his tone from lifting high, as he was feeling anger and relief mixing together when he approached her. He didn't shout at her, but it was obvious to tell what he was feeling through his tone of speaking--and he quickly feel guilty for that. Another low sigh came through his mouth, the young cop was trying to calm his temper down. Reminding himself that it's not like she had done anything wrong. In fact, she had all the rights to leave him and go whereever she wanted to. Basically nothing tied her close to him anyway.
But then again, his egoistic heart didn't want her to leave his side.
"Never mind, I'm sorry.." he sighed, still feeling guilty.

His eyes were still looking at hers, and it took a moment for him to finally noticed that she was holding something--as if she just went for grocery-shopping.
"Where were you?" he sounded tiredly.

@[Cop in Training] Jung Daehyun Only when the male finally closed the door behind himself, leaving her back in the empty apartment, Youngji allowed herself to let out a deep sigh. This was one of the reasons why she usually didn't let anyone get closer to her. The more time someone spent with her, the harder it got for her to hide her past, knowing that the other would sooner or later get curious. It wasn't Daehyun's fault for asking though since she had reacted that strongly to his offer to go to the hospital together. If only she had stayed calm like usually then maybe there wouldn't have been a reason for that hurtful expression on his face again.

She didn't know how long she just stood there, still frozen to the spot where he had left her, thinking about this and that. Only when the siren of an ambulance started to resound from the streets, Youngji woke up from her daze. For a second she just stood there, eyes blinking before she took a look around. The previous night she had been too busy to even take a look at anything, but then again, the female didn't know if Daehyun would like it if she casually walked around in his apartment. In the end she just stood there on her spot.

Several minutes passed when a sudden thought came to her mind. When Daehyun returned home he would probably be hungry. Although she wasn't the best cook, it was still edible. Cautiously she headed towards the kitchen, her eyes just quickly examining her surroundings. All in all his apartment seemed pretty simple. She hadn't expected anything different from a single male. As well as she hadn't expected to find anything in the refrigerator. A frown started to form on her forehead as she stared into the empty refrigerator. he had told her to stay...but she wanted to make him something to eat hence she would have to go outside to buy some ingedients. For a few seconds she kept arguing with herself. If she went out now she wouldn't take that long. Maybe she would be back before he came home.

So in the end Youngji just headed outside, the spare key she had found hanging next to the door tightly clenched in her hand as she made her way to the next supermarket. It didn't take her long to gather all the ingredients, mainly vegetables as well as a whole chicken, before she finally stood in line to check out. Taking a look at the clock on the wall of the store, nervousness started to spread throughout her body as she had already spent too much time on choosing the freshest vegetables.

Although actually she didn't have to stay at his place like he had asked her for, Youngji still felt something like guilt for still leaving the apartment, leading into her running the last part to his apartment, in the hope that Daehyun wasn'T back yet. But like always luck didn't seem to be on her side. Once she arrived in front of his apartment, she noticed the slightly opened door, even heard the male calling out for her from inside. Her heart was still pounding rapidly in her ribcage from the sprint as she pushed the door further open, her breath coming out in heavy pants as she replied. "You're already back..."