➴ police station。

@go minsi. the other made her case in a deliberate fashion. he could tell with the string of syllables she picks out for the officer that she says what she means, and she means what she says. though it seemingly is only able to get lost in the ether which sat just only a few centimeters away from her bruised lips before the words fall on unapologetically deaf ears. what they thought would be a principled back and forth between them and the officer turned out to almost be for naught, as he did not seem privy to humoring the two witnesses before him. the most movement that seemed to make sense was the ever-present toothpick swirling along the contours of his lips. those thin, unassuming, dry lips. surprisingly dry for how much venom doused the officer's lips. foul. juyeon took the parameters of his gaze elsewhere, only letting his fall on either the table or silhouette of... minsi, he guessed was her name now.

adjourned from his seat, juyeon carried his stature away from the asylum-esque room and eventually the police station, letting his conscience reconcile within himself as he could finally have a semblance of peace without having to look at various shades of "interrogation room gray." even though their forms were both welcomed by the canopy of darkness accompanying the dead of night, he welcomed the sweet embrace of not having to be treated like a child who stole candy. they did not get far from the station, however, before juyeon felt his elbow fall back under the pull of her touch. even if the words she wanted to say seemed to meagerly whisk in the wind of the outdoors, he could still make them out. a breath gathers in his chest. "hey," he replies similarly, almost to acknowledge the awkwardness adhering to the air that surrounded them. juyeon's ears almost no longer heard the city's omnipresent ambiance because the thread of tension bound them for just a moment. he crosses his arms loosely, fingers tapping against the crook of his elbow to stall for a bit. well, at least one of them had to say something further, other than just a straining 'hey' croaking from bruised lips. the young man, for all his doubts and grudges, did not feel like putting that burden on minsi.

"you seem to have seen better days..." nice one, juyeon. way to go with the empathetic opener. yet his head nods to a direction over his shoulder. "which is why we're going to get ice cream at the convenience store a block away. i don't think you should wallow away in your bruises alone, ready for them to take you." he lets the pace of his stride match hers until they can reach the nearest store. weird it was that they were entering an establishment, not quite looking like the best versions of themselves. clothes tarnished and their features swelling with bruises and cuts. they surely could feel the intangible stare of the clerk burning a hole into both of them. "does minsi like strawberry shortcake bars or is that miyeon's favorite? so... which one are you? i'm trying to parse out everything that has happened here, ok? so ing stupid..." that last sentence is to himself, not to her. a slight agitation muddies his words a bit underneath his breath. one could not blame him - having to have a night go like this is quite bothersome and unexpected. though his words only wisp quietly into the ambiance as minsi was already off at the opposite corner of the store. in the end his hand opts for a cookies and cream bar, a strawberry shortcake, taiyaki, and a matcha bar. strange it was for her to just disappear around the tightly knitted aisles, but he followed her steps once he grabbed the items because, at least for the length of the night's wandering eye, he did not feel like losing sight of her.

@lee juyeon. so his name was juyeon.

 turning to her side, minsi watched him as he eloquently spoke to the officer in such a fashion she would never be able to conjure. she was never good with her words, which might have caused her false imprisonment in the first place. with the way juyeon sat, his perfect posture made it feel as if she was sitting next to a soldier, but his words had a warmth that no general would possess. his composure almost had her fooled that his battered face and warped collar were in pristine condition. she should treat his injuries and replace his stretched shirt at the very least. guilt began to collect in her gut the longer she stared at him, and so, reluctantly, she faced the officer once again.

minsi’s attention began to waver as juyeon stubbornly defended her—not because she thought it was boring or a subpar attempt but because she had already given up and accepted the assault charge. however, the sudden mention of what she thought to be her sister’s name leaving juyeon’s lips instead of hers revitalized her attentiveness with a new rage. not at him, but at her. she did not want to be charged with another crime she did not commit, not when someone got himself hurt defending her. “everything mr. lee said here is correct.” she shifted uncomfortably in the hard plastic seat. did he know miyeon? she hoped to god not. maybe being in the police station was making her more sensitive and it was simply a misinterpretation. 

“that man was making inappropriate comments toward me the entire night. if you check the cctv footage, he pulled my hair. that’s assault right?” minsi narrowed her eyes at the officer, feigning confidence, though the female continued to anxiously pick at her nails under the desk. “sure, it is. but the angle of the video was not the best. the man you speak of is completely clean.” the officer fiddled with the toothpick in his mouth, seemingly disinterested in her points.

 “that record you speak of was from six years ago. nothing else since. i’m sure you could read that it says gambling on my file—not a violent crime, sir.” frustration seeped out from her shaky breaths, clearly holding her anger back in her chest. she glanced towards juyeon, his unreadable expression and gaze meeting hers for a moment. she didn’t know why she did it, whether it was for comfort or to check the wound on his face. “my testimony may have no merit in your eyes, but you cannot deny we have a law-abiding citizen supporting that i did not initiate it.” 

minsi foolishly thought those words were enough to close up the discussion and let them go home, but it took another grueling hour of arguing for the officer to finally deem minsi innocent. before they left, while the officer was away on a bathroom break, minsi took a fistful of toothpicks from a dish on the officer’s desk and made sure to each and every one of those slivers of wood before placing them back in the bowl. it was retribution for wasting their time.

though they were finally out of the police station, minsi had another problem to deal with: the awkward tension that surrounded them. waiting until the automatic glass doors closed behind them, the female hesitantly reached out to gently tug on juyeon’s sleeve, who walked at a slightly faster pace than her.  “hey,” was all she could force from her lips. 

@wi hajoon. she was at the detective's desk, signing the police report for the car accident she had just gotten into. initially, just moments after the crash, she had been in shock, having the front end of her car t-boned in. luckily, all jisoo had suffered was a little bit of whiplash and some emotional fright. otherwise, she was perfectly fine. insurance would take care of her car's damages, as the footage on her dashcam caught everything— the defendant had clearly blown through a red light at an intersection. in addition, it was obvious that the man had been intoxicated. throughout the entire police interrogation, the drunk driver could barely register commands nor answer anything without giving away his impeded, slurring speech. as well, the criminal reeked, his vicinity reeking of pungent alcohol. evidently, it was a clear conviction; the man was guilty, and should have been charged with a DUI and reckless driving. should have, but wasn't, as jisoo heard the door of the interrogation room open, and out came the very man that nearly obliterated her car.

jisoo was too stunned to speak. the driver was grinning lazily, walking out of the room, his hands free, uncuffed. her heart pounded against her chest, while her blood boiled. he walked up to her, his balance still impaired, his steps swaying slightly. she stood still, rooted in place, even as he walked up to her. reaching into his wallet, he pulled out a printed check. "i told the police that the only charge i wanted to press on you, was for stealing my heart hehe. here's some money, should even out the damages to your car." the criminal nonchalantly told her, smiling without a care in the world. he then holds out the money order for her to take. jisoo doesn't move. it was clear to her as to what was happening; injustice. the defendant was of a privileged background, and paying his way out of jail.

the man then grabbed her hand, shoving the check into her palm. forcefully, he then clamped her hand over it, making her hold onto the rectangular piece of paper. "you're welcome." he smugly remarked, before making his exit. appalled, horrified and infuriated, jisoo finally reacts. she turned to look at the detective whom she knew was behind her— behind this atrocity. she hastily walked up to him, standing right in front of his desk. "why aren't you stopping him." she asked, her voice callous and void of any expression. she looked up at him, her eyes ablaze with rage, demanding for an answer.

@go minsi. the silence of the ride was deafening; it filled the air of the interior with the slightest intangible whip of quietness and tension. juyeon was still dumbfounded, adjusting to everything that happened within the last few hours yet his train of thought still failed to parse through and reconcile everything. to juyeon, it seemed easier just to fall silent - ironically, the loudest action coming from him being the quiet stare he adhered to, staring a thousand yards out the window. the glimmer of the police lights fragmented in his irises and almost all noise to him fell to unhearing ears. except for when the young woman tried her chances to mumble something out, only for the words to messily tread back into once again. he understood, however. still, they were in the car with the cop driving. it's not like juyeon ever felt safe confiding and exchanging in words proximate to a pig cop. yet, still did he spare a glance or two over to her, looking down afterwards in solemn thought. almost as if he was glad that she was still able enough to accompany him in the car. and not so injured that she would already be off in the other direction in an ambulance.

the station is less-than-accommodating, but perhaps that was by design. the temperature did not know what it wanted to be, and the interior felt more like an asylum. yet here they were, questioned on the sequence and severeness of the events. the officer's voice came off as needlessly authoritative considering he looked like he just rolled out of bed himself. juyeon's neck stayed stationary the whole time, yet what makes his head tick to the side was an unfamiliar name attached to what he supposed was a familiar face, 'go minsi.' this causes his attention to falter to the officer as he calls for his name, "and yours, mister? hello? we do not have all day!" finally, words fall from his teeth. "lee juyeon." his voice remained steady despite the crinkle of his cheek pinching the cut on his face every time he spoke. minsi? he thought quietly to himself. he was sure her name was miyeon. or maybe she's using an alias for the time being. is that legal? no matter. the officer continued talking as such.

"well, it seems that your partner here, go minsi, has had a couple of run-ins with us in the past. even a criminal record to boot. tell me, mister. just between you and me, it was her, wasn't it? the one who started it all. i mean look at her. a scoundrel is hiding in a young face like that, wouldn't you say?"

throughout, juyeon still has yet to reconcile his confusion in all of it. from the discrepancy of her name to already not finding the officer in front of him to be a character he would like to humor. and to think the officer was saying this out loud, when she was still in the room with him. the officer did not seem like the brightest type. yet he replies pointedly, begrudgingly, "look, whatever you might think, i can assure you it was that drunken man that started it. even said a couple of bigoted things. i swear, officer. i was there and only had one drink in me." juyeon's mannerisms as a teacher spilled from him in a not-so-subtle fashion. he was the type to talk with his hands, adding an air of sincerity to his words at least. "even if you think she might be this 'scoundrel' or whatever you said, i saw what i saw, officer." his gaze darts lightly toward the other woman recovering from her wounds in silence, "isn't that right, miy- uh minsi?"

@lee juyeon. “miss, state your name.” minsi shifted uncomfortably in her seat, glancing to her side at the beaten man, who was still slightly dazed, sitting on the floor of the barred cell within the station. “i said state your name, miss.” the bartender flinched at the stern tone of the officer’s voice, finally redirecting her attention forward.”

“errr. go minsi?” she unconsciously picked at the dead skin around her nails. her head throbbed, her lip stung. to be brief, her entire face hurt. after moving her nose from side to side, it became obvious to her that dried blood clung to her left nostril. yuck.

“are you sure about that?”

“i apologize sir. it's go minsi.”