Chapter Text
6:50 am
Officer? Right, she isn't facing me.
She was looking down, not at him. It wasn't too far fetched from her to assume he was an officer, but thankfully he wasn't. Choi almost changed the police academy, only to change plans when it didn't align with his morals. Disappointing his family, his junior and chief. None of them said it, but he knew it was true. Everyone had always said that he would make a good Police officer and the police needed people like him; well, until he actually entered the academy.
The words changed from "you are a born officer" to "these are the things you need to change about yourself to become a good officer". Maybe that was the problem. Maybe because they had required him to change instead of stroking his ego.
The system would never change if those that can change it decide to then away from it. Hadn't that been his plan at the start, when he got such feedback? If you can't beat your enemy, infiltrate it like a Trojan horse. That was what he told Jaekwan and they once dreamed of maybe changing the system together.
If police prioritized rules over life, they simply need enough people that prioritize life. Enough people ready to get scolded again and again, without giving in. Without giving up.
They could do it.
Choi could do it..
... Choi could not do it.
In the end he gave up, for one reason or another. Maybe it was his ego. As the firefighter you were always the hero, while the roles of police officers were way more varied. Choi liked being admired ... Being loved.
He took a deep breath. "No, not an officer, citizen. I am a firefighter." He felt a need to correct her, even though it might not have the same effect as usual. Usually the firefighter was always the good guy. But if the end destination she had chosen for herself was indeed death, then he - who had decided to stop her - wasn't.
He'd do whatever he could to stop her.
"Is that so?", she remarked with a soft voice while looking down. She didn't seem to particularly care who he was, yet she still commented: "I don't see any fire trucks... Are you lying, Ahjussi?"
He let out a soft sigh. They were quite high up, but the color of a fire truck might still stand out. I am not lying right now... My colleagues are on the way and we will do whatever we can to save your life.
Instead he said: "I guess I am somewhat of a liar." That wasn't so untrue either. He was very good at lying. Lying was practically his second nature.
"A big liar."
"Seems like it, huh. I should be a better role model for young folks like you.", he kept his tone lighthearted as he carefully took a step closer. Volunteering for being the negotiater? Yeah, right. That's exactly the thing you suck at, you idiot. But what else was he supposed to do? By the time the others arrived, she'd already be a goner. There was no one here but him.
"It doesn't matter", she spoke while staring down, slowly leaning in. "I don't need any role models anymore. It's over for me." He took a hasty step forward, only to abruptly stop himself when he noticed that she was not attempting to jump - she was crouching down. Her head was lowered and turned away from him, so he couldn't see her expression, but ...
Her posture gave something away that made his heart beat faster.
Hesitation.
The girl was so close to her goal, yet hesitating in this last moment; even when confronted with an adult who was clearly here to stop her.
Not all is lost. He didn't want to startle her now. Instead he knew he had to engage into conversation with her. The best solution would be to convince her to simply not do it. Even with the others arriving and preparing a cushion to catch her with, from this height...
... Well...
So the best, most optimal solution was for him to do his fucking job right and convince her to step away from the edge. "You are still very much in front of me", he tried carefully and put on a cheerful voice. "Just a few feet away, not a goner at all. And while I am not a good role model, there are a lot of great people out there, you know." Just ramble on, ramble on. Silence was his enemy right now. "I have this really great junior, you know! He is like a teddy bear. He seems quite stoic at first, but he has a soft heart. Just... If you wait a little bit, you will get to meet him! We could get ice cream together--"
"Ahjussi." Her tone was calm and soft, yet cut through his neverending stream of words like a knife through butter.
"Yes."
"You know, you sound really patronizing", she spoke softly while running her fingers along the edge of the building, playing with his heart. "I am not an idiot. I know what you are trying to do. You want to overwhelm my head with useless words, so I can't even think about jumping." Her tone, it was as if she was pitying his pathetic attempts. "I am not a small child. I am almost 16 years old, you know?"
"Almost 16... Wow", the pathetic man whispered, completely disarmed by this child. He deflated like a balloon. How did one deal with teenagers? He wish he could just... Run up to her and grab her, pulling her away from the edge. But she was too close. The risk of her jumping because he scared her was too big. "You are quite mature and perceptive."
"That's because I have an actual good role model at school."
Alright, kid. Shots fired. His poor heart. If the situation was any more playful, he would have wiped away an imaginary tear. "That's good, really good! But why are you not with him then? Why are you out here, doing something incredible stupid your senior would surely disapprove?"
"He isn't my senior!" She sounded almost scandalized at the implication that her role model was a fellow student.
And yet, Choi counted it as a win. Why? Because she finally had some emotion in her voice. He had found a topic that got her to react to him and distract her from her goal right in front of her. So he grinned and put on a teasing tone: "Oh? It's a 'him'? Are you crushing on a teacher?"
Her shoulders started to shake and for a moment the grin slipped off his face again, thinking she was crying. The tips of her ears turned red and he realized the wasn't crying - she was furious. "I am not crushing on him!", she exclaimed with an embarrassed voice, whipping her head around and looking at him for the first time.
Wow. What an flustered face the girl was making. Shaking eyes, lips pressed together. The impulse to tease her was strong, but he held back. "Sorry for assuming." Now that she was facing him, he sent her a cheeky, yet embarrassed smile. "Is he a nice teacher?"
"He isn't a teacher?"
"He isn't?"
"Not..." She seemed to hesitate and thought about it for a bit longer. "Not really. But something similar."
What does that mean? Choi kept that question to himself and simply grinned. "And he is a better role model than me? Why?"
She stared at him with a deadpan expression. "He is way more mature than you, Ahjussi."
Ouch???? What was he supposed to say to that. Getting bullied by a teenager. Jaekwan was too nice to laugh at him for that, but Haegeum most definitely would. He couldn't help the helpless chuckle that escaped him. What was this situation? "Good for him."
"If he was here, he wouldn't be half as pathetic as you in his attempts to make me love life."
Hey now.
"If he was here, he would have already gotten me to step away from the edge."
"Well..." Choi suppressed the twitch of the left eyebrow that was about to start again. Was she taunting him, so he would go away? Or did she mean it. "To me your words sound like you absolutely want to live, girl. You are just searching for someone to convince you, hm?"
At that she frowned at him. Both the flustered expression earlier and the frown could be seen as negative expressions, but they were preferable to the empty gaze she showed earlier. "Don't call me girl", she complained with an almost disgusted tone.
"Well." We are getting somewhere now. Even though it doesn't seem like much, we are getting somewhere. "What should I call you then?" Getting her name would be a big step.
"..." She turned back around and looked down, opening and closing her mouth a few times before speaking. "Ji-Woo."
"That's a beautiful name."
"You would have said this about any name."
Damn. Once again she left him speechless, but now he could see a small smirk on her lips. If it makes her happy. "Tell me then, Ji-Woo, why are you standing on this rooftop, if you still want to live?" Was it for attention? He didn't want to ask that, it sounded so condescending.
"..." She once again played with a little stone at the edge of the building, making it really hard for him to stand still. "Maybe I am just looking for someone... Anyone... To be invested enough in my life to beg me to live."
So it is for attention, in some way. But... Really, really sad. In a way he could understand her. Once upon a time he had in a similar spot. Now though he was stable and secure in his life he hoped.
Slowly, he lowered himself next to her in a crouching position, establishing eye contact. "Well? Did I beg enough for you, Ji-Woo-ja?"
"Hm..." Her gaze drifted down again. Now there were some fire trucks and police cars whose lights were blinking up to them like jewels. They had just arrived, but their sirens weren't clearly audible, mixing with the rest of the city noises. "You don't really seem that desperate." That's because I am trying to not scare you, damn it-- "But I guess you did run up here." The smile on her lips widened a bit. "That was kind of funny."
Choi let out a deep breath. If it took him embarrassing himself in front of a child to make said child live, he'd do so any day.
So how...
The two of them got up with a smile. He was fully aware that she wasn't suddenly fine. This right here was a cry for help and he would inform her guardians. If it was necessary, he himself would make sure that she got help. That was just the type of person he was.
... Did it...
Choi made a step forward and help out his hand towards her. "I tell you what, do you like hot chocolate? It must be cold in your uniform, so let's get something warm to drink."
"Ahjussi, you are being condescending again."
Well! "I am not trying to be!"
...go wrong?
Just as she was about to step forward, a gust of wind came from the side and blew into their faces. That wouldn't have been a problem. Ji-Woo closed her dark eyes and raised her arms to shield her face. The small step backwards was simple reflects.
Choi immediately felt nervous and stepped towards her once more. "Careful now!"
And then something white flew towards them from the side. A pile of newspaper, timed like in an unfunny comedy for cheap laughs flew into their faces. Choi was smart enough to not move, but he tried to call out when he heard a small scream. "Ji-Woo, don't move!"
With a fast movement he removed the newspaper from his face, only to be confronted with an empty spot in front of him.
"..."
..
What?!
It was already too late.
Still, he sprinted forward with his heart beating way too fast in his chest to see if his colleagues had caught her.
6:59 am
A pair of expressionless red eyes looked up at him. The muscular man from earlier was hanging out of the window from another floor (maybe the 30th?), with some kind of brown rope and no clear signs of safety precautions. He was a safety hazard on his own. But one of his arms was holding onto the wrist of a sobbing girl that had almost fallen past him.
He was staring up at Choi in silence, as if asking him what he was doing. In hindsight his expression had been completely blank and Choi was just projecting, but at least it got him moving at that time.
It took him way too long to free himself from his spot and sprint towards the stairs to help the two of them on... Whichever floor they were. He could guess, but wasn't sure. It was the 32nd floor in fact, from which he had caught Ji-Woo.
By the time Choi reached them, he was once again panting and the man had somehow pulled both the girl and himself into the room. As it turned out thanks to the open carrier, it hasn't been a rope at all. It was...
A snake?
What?
"Mr. Firefighter."
His eyes snapped upward to look at the man again.
Said stranger held out the sobbing girl towards him.
"I'm afraid she's dislocated her arm."
"..."
He silently accepted the girl from him and at this moment the doors of the staircase burst open once more. "Choi!"
Reflexively he turned his head towards his colleagues.
"We need EMS! She is hurt!" The situation was a bit chaotic and he did his best to explain the situation to his colleagues with limited words. He could always write a more detailed report later.
Because of how messy the situation was, he almost missed the soft sound the girl in his arms made. "Oh..."
Oh? He turned around to see what had caught her attention. Was it the snake, maybe? He'd ask the man to close the carrier.
But how did he even get it to do that? That guy has a lot of explaining to do.
But the snake was gone. And so was the man.
"..."
???????
Bonus:
Eun Haje blankly stared at the man and his carrier in front of her clinic as she came to unlock it not that much later.
"..."
"..."
*It's too early for this.*
The snake in the carrier gave a content hiss, making her narrow her eyes.
"What exactly did you do this time, Chief Lizard?"