Chapter Text
“Home stopped being a place when you entered my life.”
Han Yeojin pauses in the middle of stacking the dry plates in the cabinet and turns around to stare at him. “What did you say?” she asks slowly, dragging out her words. He stares back as he leans against the counter, head tilting curiously at the faint blush creeping up her cheeks.
Yeojin is the first one to break the stare, blinking in rapid succession. He watches as she brings up a hand to her face and starts fanning, her voice shaky as she lets out a small chuckle. “Have you been watching rom-coms behind my back? I know you’re on leave, but I didn’t think you’d be that bored.”
Simok is quiet as he looks at the floor, thinking back to when he had gone out to meet someone for lunch earlier in the day. Lifting his head again to look at her, he replies, “Someone told me to tell you that…” Frowning, he glances elsewhere and avoids her gaze. “Please forget I said anything.”
From the corner of his eye, he sees Yeojin taking a step towards him, and another, until she is standing directly in front of him. He observes her closely, wondering what she will do next, only to be completely taken by surprise when she loops her arms around his torso and rests her head on his shoulder. He sighs and relaxes in her embrace, the tension in his body seeping away as he wraps his arms around her, pulling her closer.
“It makes me really happy to hear you say that, Simok-ah. I’m glad you think highly enough of me to say that,” she murmurs close to his ear. He smiles, relieved that he had not somehow upset their relationship in any way. After a moment, she leans back and looks him in the eye. “But… who exactly told you to say that?”
Earlier
Simok arrives at the restaurant he was asked to come to. He bows politely at the waitress as he enters, and immediately finds the person he is supposed to meet seated in the middle of the venue, the man’s tall figure and neat suit making him stand out amongst the other patrons. As he approaches the table the man is seated at, the person pauses in the middle of his meal and looks up, smiling when he sees Simok.
“Prosecutor Hwang! You’re here!” exclaims the man. Simok bows to his senior.
“Prosecutor Seo.”
Seo Dongjae lets out a laugh, though what he finds so amusing Simok does not know. “Yah, look at you! You actually look happy!”
He stares at Prosecutor Seo blankly and nods, unsure of how to respond, as he seats himself across the table. “Yes.”
“I guess that’s what being in love does to someone, huh? Even our Prosecutor Hwang is not immune to the effects of love!”
Alright, Simok really does not know what the man is saying. “Why did you ask to see me?” he asks quickly, putting a stop to the speech that he senses Prosecutor Seo is about to go on. When a waitress comes by to take his order, he asks for the same meal the other prosecutor ordered.
“Aish, we’re co-workers, aren’t we? Or former co-workers, I guess,” says Seo Dongjae, frowning a little. “Anyway, I just feel like catching up with you. What have you been up to, besides getting yourself a girl?”
His eye twitches almost imperceptibly, because Han Yeojin is most definitely not just a girl, but he chooses to let that comment slide. Instead, he feels slightly uncomfortable at the fact that he is in the middle of Seoul having lunch with just Seo Dongjae and nobody else, for the purpose of something that is not work-related. A heavy feeling sits at his chest, which he determines to be regret, based on what Yeojin had told him once a while ago. He regrets coming here.
“Work in Wonju has been busy,” explains Simok briefly. After a moment of neither one saying anything, Prosecutor Seo sighs.
“Really? That’s it? What about Senior Inspector Han then? What do you guys usually do together? Come on Hwang Simok, I want details!”
“I don’t think it’s any of your business,” says Simok quietly, though one look at his fellow prosecutor shows that the man really does not care. After all, would it be Seo Dongjae if he is actually concerned about butting into other people’s business?
“You know, I never imagined I’d live to see the day you date –“
“We go to the park on Saturdays.”
“Oh,” responds Prosecutor Seo eloquently. He waves a hand at Simok, gesturing for him to continue. “Alright, go on.”
Simok ponders on what else to say. Yet again he finds himself regretting coming here. “We discuss cases. Sometimes Senior Inspector Han makes us cook together…”
“Okay, stop right there,” says Prosecutor Seo exasperatedly. “Take it from someone who’s been through it, alright? You want to woo them with declarations of love and romantic words! Honestly, from the way you’re speaking, it’s like you’re not even interested.”
“That’s not true,” insists Simok firmly, his face hardening almost immediately, finding himself disturbed by what Seo Dongjae said, if the churning in his stomach is any indication. At this point, Simok wonders if he should just stop entertaining his colleague and leave the restaurant entirely.
“Okay, okay. Well, that’s obviously not true, right?” The man laughs awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “But still, you’re gonna want to woo her, Prosecutor Hwang. Maybe she’s used to, well, you, but you need to go above and beyond if you want this to keep.”
Deciding to humor him one last time, Simok asks, “What should I do, then?”
Seo Dongjae leans forward, the corners of his lips pulling to form a wide smile, almost Cheshire cat-like. “Okay, so you should be telling her things like ‘you look really beautiful today’, but that’s pretty basic, right? No, I think you should say ‘now that we’re together, I cannot imagine my life any other way’. I bet you if you say that, you’ll get married within the week.”
Simok blinks. Then blinks again. He wonders if his ears have somehow stopped functioning the way they are supposed to, because he does not think that he heard the man right.
“Oh, I have another good one. Tell her, ‘home stopped being a place when you entered my life.’ That will work, I guarantee –“
“No.” It is already the last straw for Simok. If he has to hear one more cheesy pick-up line, he will throw something. Preferably, Seo Dongjae. Taking out his wallet from the pocket of his jacket, he pulls out ten thousand won and places the banknote on the table. “Thank you for the lunch, Prosecutor Seo, but I have to go back to the office now.” With that, he simply gets up from his chair and bows slightly to the man before turning around to leave.
“I – Wha - Wait, Hwang Simok, you can’t just leave! I’m not finished!”
He nods serenely at the same waitress from earlier as he leaves, steadily ignoring the indignant yells directed at him. Stepping outside, he lets out a sigh of relief, feeling like a weight had just been lifted off of his shoulders. Making his way back to his car, a smile slowly forms, unbidden, on his face, the thought of spending time in the company of one Han Yeojin filling him with a warm, pleasant feeling that he has come to associate with her. The smile disappears, however, when his stomach grumbles, displeased that he left before his food had even arrived.
In the restaurant, Seo Dongjae narrows his eyes at the ten thousand won laid neatly across the table that was left to him by his junior. He feels the first signs of a headache forming on his head and proceeds to massage the middle of his forehead, sighing out loud. “That prick is still as insufferable as ever. I don’t know why I even bothered. And what was that about going to the office? He’s wearing a sweater and jeans! Did he forget how to lie or what?”
Just then, a thought occurs to him. “Wait, what if… no, there’s absolutely no way that he’ll actually say some of the crap I told him to, right?”
Now
“You’re telling me you took dating advice from Seo Dongjae?” questions Yeojin incredulously.
“Yes.”
“I… I don’t know what to say. Tell me you didn’t even want to say it. Please.”
“Not initially, no,” confirms Simok. He meets her eyes, the look in his own eyes unreadable. “But I thought about it, and I don’t think it is a false statement. Perhaps Prosecutor Seo should be given some credit. Home truly did stop being a place when you entered my life.”