Chapter Text
The sun shone brightly, making Kwon Joo squinted. It was November and a little bit colder than usual. Kwon Joo wrapped herself around her autumn coat, checking her purse and passport, then pulled her suitcase and walked outside the main gate.
She was contemplating whether she should take a taxi or a bus to the hotel when a familiar man ran up to her. Kwon Joo smiled, staring at the man who was trying to catch his breath in front of her. This man was still the same. Short hair, wearing a t-shirt with a brown leather jacket, and long jeans with black sneakers.
“Long time no see.”
“Detective Cho,” Kwon Joo bowed politely. “Long time no see. How are you?”
Derek Cho, the said man, smiled widely, showing his neat white teeth. “I am good. What about you? Have these six months passed well?"
Kwon Joo nodded, her hair now was longer, slightly past her shoulder, making her look so much prettier. Derek had to punch his own thigh to stop himself from staring at the woman any longer. But maybe Kwon Joo had known he had been staring at her for too long.
Kwon Joo stared at the man, wondering.
“Ah… Agent Park called me,” Derek explained, trying to sound more relaxed, “that you will go on a vacation.”
“Then?”
Derek smiled shyly. “I actually asked her to persuade you to take a vacation here. I even asked for a week off from my work to be your guide.”
Her eyes widened. “Is that okay? I can go alone. I don’t want to bother you.”
Taking her suitcase, Derek shook his head. He didn’t expect Kwon Joo to only bring a medium-sized suitcase for a week of vacation. Didn’t women usually bring more stuff than men to a vacation?
“Detective Cho,” Kwon Joo tried to retrieve her suitcase but Derek had already walked ahead, and she followed him.
“You will be fine as long as you’re with me, Centerjang. Besides, wouldn’t it be more comfortable when you have a private tour guide? You don’t have to worry about speaking English because you have me.”
Kwon Joo Shook her head and matched her steps with him as they walked to the parking lot. “I can speak English, too, Detective Cho.”
Derek laughed at that and stopped walking. He looked at Kwon Joo with a smile. “I don’t mean to offend you. It’s just that I think you will need me while you’re here. You welcomed me warmly in Korea, so now, I will be your guide here.”
Didn’t thinking of another protest, Kwon Joo stared back at him. Finally, she nodded. “But if the next day you have any business to take care of, you have to tell me.”
Derek’s nod calmed her. She followed Derek to a convertible sports car. Kwon Joo furrowed her eyes in an instant. “Is this your car?”
Derek put her suitcase on the backseat, staring at Kwon Joo with wonder. “Yes, why?”
Kwon Joo forced a smile, “Maybe I can take the bus--”
Without waiting for Kwon Joo to finish her words, Derek pulled her wrist to the right side of the car, opening the door for her.
“Detective Cho--”
“Just get in. If you still don’t like this car after this ride, I will use another car tomorrow to pick you up,” Derek raised his eyebrows, asking Kwon Joo to comply.
Kwon Joo could only get in the car, hugging her white backpack tight. She had done wearing the seatbelt when Derek got in the car, smiling at her.
“Would you like to put your backpack on the back, too?”
Kwon Joo quickly shook her head.
-----
Kwon Joo felt a little bit dizzy after the drive from the airport to her hotel with a sports car. The wind kept making her hair messy, and cold air mixed with sunlight made her uncomfortable. Many people had a bucket list to ride that kind of car, but Kwon Joo didn’t enjoy it at all.
She plopped down on the bed and closed her eyes. The warm scent and the soft blanket made her sleepy and soon she fell asleep.
But then her phone vibrates and Kwon Joo was taken back to reality. She took out her phone from her back pocket, staring at the screen, eyes still half-closed. Agent Park.
“Hello?”
“Centerjang-nim!” Agent Park’s cheerful voice made Kwon Joo smile even though her eyes were still closed. “How’s LA?”
“I haven’t gone anywhere, Agent Park,” Kwon Joo answered, forcing herself to sit on her bed. “How’s the call centre?”
She could hear a phone rang from afar. “Good. We had one code 1. We are good. Centerjang-nim, enjoy your vacation. Don’t just stay in the hotel.”
Kwon Joo chuckled at that. “I know. But actually, you know I’m not the type to enjoy the crowd.”
“Find a quiet place and enjoy your hobby, Centerjang-nim.”
“My hobby?”
“You like to drink, right? You love alcohol.”
“Agent Park--”
“Oh, there’s a call. I will hang up. Centerjang-nim, enjoy your vacation with Detective Cho!”
Kwon Joo stared at her phone screen for a long time until it went dark. She sighed. Agent Park seemed to know her too well. A hobby that even she did not realize, Agent Park knew.
And Agent Park’s last words kept repeating themselves in her ears. Enjoy your vacation with Detective Cho? It was as if they planned this vacation together from the start.
Kwon Joo put her phone on the bed then walked to the bathroom. She washed her hands and her face to wake herself up. Then she thought again. She didn’t even want this vacation. She felt like she doesn’t know what to do if she’s not in the call centre.
Combing her hair in front of the mirror, Kwon Joo realized something. It looked like she had indeed turned into a workaholic.
-----
“Are you ready?”
Kwon Joo wore her black sweater and smoothing her hair quickly. “I will be down in 5 minutes,” she answered to her phone on the bed.
“Okay. I will wait in the lobby.”
Without bothering to put on some makeup, Kwon Joo wore her coat, took a backpack and hung it on her right shoulder and left her room. She made sure her room was locked before walking to the elevator.
She didn’t know what made her act in a hurry. But she felt excited to have dinner. Maybe her growled stomach made her rush to meet Derek and eat whatever it is given by him.
Derek immediately stood up when he saw Kwon Joo get out of the elevator. He waved and when she saw him, she ran to him.
“I’m sorry you have to wait long,” Kwon Joo bowed a little but Derek shook it off.
“No problem. If you’re ready, let’s go.”
With a big smile, Derek walked ahead of her, opening the hotel glass door for her.
Kwon Joo smiled a little, nodded politely to Derek and they left the hotel.
On the 3 minutes walk to the restaurant he recommended to her, Derek always walked right next to Kwon Joo. He sometimes led her to walk on the inner side of the sidewalk to avoid the busy road, or sometimes he pulled her to the outer side of the sidewalk so she wouldn’t bump into drunk men or smokers. He acted more like a bodyguard than a tour guide.
Without saying anything, Kwon Joo thanked Derek by paying attention to his body language and did what he asked her with his body language. Walking next to Derek, Kwon Joo felt safe. Maybe he was right, she needed him on this vacation.
The said restaurant was in sight and there were not many people waiting in line. They went into the restaurant after Derek once again opened the door for Kwon Joo.
Despite entering first, Kwon Joo lets Derek choose their seats. He chose to sit in the corner of the room, right in front of the transparent glass so they could see the colourful lights of the stores across the street as well as the pedestrians wearing unusual clothing.
Derek pulled a chair for Kwon Joo. With an awkward smile, Kwon Joo sat down. After ordering the food, Kwon Joo expressed her uneasy feeling.
“Detective Cho, you don’t have to open the door for me or pull a chair for me. I can do it myself,” Kwon Joo whispered even though she was almost a hundred percent sure that no one would understand what they talked about in Korean. “Thank you, but I feel a little bit uncomfortable.”
Derek hadn’t lost his smile, “Centerjang, as long as you’re here with me, familiarize yourself with all the ordinance that I do for you.”
Kwon Joo frowned, “Detective Cho--”
A waitress suddenly stood beside Kwon Joo, making her automatically close her mouth. The waitress put two plates on their white covered tablecloth gracefully. Then she winked at Kwon Joo.
Though a little bit shocked, Kwon Joo said thank you in a fluent American accent. She no longer looked at the waitress. But she could still see from the corner of her eyes that the waitress didn’t leave immediately and stood still near her.
With her head down, Kwon Joo’s hands started to move nervously. Then someone held her hand. She looked up, her eyes widened. She almost got a heart attack because she thought it was the waitress who held her hand.
“Are you okay, Babe?”
Kwon Joo didn’t know if her eyes could open any wider when she heard Derek say those words. She cleared her thoughts, thinking how she should reply to those words. Then she realized the waitress who was standing beside her now had left.
“She just checks the situation,” Derek casually let go of her hand and reached the cutlery. “Let’s eat.”
It seems that Kwon Joo’s heart was beating so fast that it bothered her ears. Trying to calm herself, Kwon Joo took a few deep breaths and started eating.
Once again, her eyes widened. The food was delicious.