Chapter Text
Waking up with a headache, Kwon Joo massaged her forehead. She tried to pull herself together, rolling to her side, then she realized she’s not in her apartment. With one quick move, she sat up on the bed.
She looked around. Desk lamp, television, curtain-covered glass window. She sighed in relief, just remembered that she was on vacation. Kwon Joo thought of that one word as she got out of the bed and walked towards the bathroom.
She remembered she went out for a drink with Derek yesterday, but after that, she couldn’t remember anything. Kwon Joo stared at her own reflection in the mirror, she had eyebags. Was she crying yesterday?
As she brushed her teeth, she closed her eyes and tried to remember everything that happened last night. Then she felt nauseous. Was she drunk yesterday? What about Derek? Is he okay?
As if answering her questions, her phone in her jeans pocket vibrated. Taking out her phone, she realized she hadn’t changed into pyjamas since yesterday.
“Hello?”
“Centerjang,” Derek sounded so cheerful. “What time can I pick you up?
Kwon Joo took her phone away from her ear and stared at her screen. Her eyes widened. It was half-past ten already. She slept too long. “Maybe in an hour?”
“Alright. I will pick you up in one hour,” Derek answered. She could hear paper rustling at the end of the line. “See you.”
“Ah, Detective Cho,” Kwon Joo called before Derek hung up. “I need to buy clothes today.”
“Okay, no problem. I can change our schedule a little.”
“Thank you,” Kwon Joo smiled, almost hung up when Derek talked again.
“Do you purposely bring only a few clothes so you can go shopping here?”
Kwon Joo knew Derek was just teasing her, but she still answered firmly and honestly. “It’s for Agent Park.”
“Oh, okay,” Derek sounded a little bit worried he’s annoying her. “But it wouldn’t hurt to buy one for yourself—”
“See you, Detective Cho.” and Kwon Joo hung up.
-----
The sun shone warmly when Kwon Joo came out of the hotel. Today she wore a blue shirt coated with a black oversized sweater, long jeans, and sneakers. She also brought her notebook, wallet, and passport in her backpack. Before going down to the lobby, she thought of bringing her sunglasses and hat but looked like she wouldn’t need them today.
A black Nissan stopped right in front of the lobby and Derek got off the driver’s seat. He wore a black polo shirt, long jeans, and white sneakers. Smiling widely, Derek opened the door for Kwon Joo.
“Detective Cho—”
“Please continue your protest in the car,” Derek pulled her hand softly until she was standing next to him by the open door. “There is no time to be wasted.”
There is no time to be wasted. Kwon Joo’s thoughts shifted to why she woke up so late. Wasn’t that partly Derek’s fault, too? But she decided not to argue and got in the car. She even let Derek close the door for her.
“What happened yesterday?”
Derek who was drinking from his bottle choked hearing that sudden question. Since leaving ten minutes ago, she hadn’t said anything. “What… happened?”
Kwon Joo eyed Derek suspiciously. “I didn’t say anything weird to you yesterday, did I?”
Derek tapped the steering wheel with his index finger, thinking of what answer he should give her. Was mentioning a past colleague's name while crying can be included in the criteria of weirdness? “No.”
“Good then,” Kwon Joo turned her gaze to the road. “It seems like I lost my consciousness yesterday. Please write all our expenses yesterday. I will repay you.”
Now Derek thought if her cold attitude today was caused by that vodka cupcake she ate yesterday. Or something else. “I will write it down.”
Kwon Joo nodded without looking at him.
“Centerjang,” Derek asked, a little bit nervous. “Are you mad at me because I let Duke gave you that vodka cupcake yesterday?”
Kwon Joo turned to look at Derek immediately. Her eyes widened. “Vodka cupcake? So that’s why—”
She stopped, prompting Derek to glance at her anxiously. But she looked relaxed.
Kwon Joo chuckled. “I thought I can’t drink cider anymore. So it was vodka…”
Now Derek’s eyes got widened too. “So you were worried because you thought you can’t drink cider anymore?”
Nodding her head, Kwon Joo smiled shyly.
Derek sighed in relief. He turned his attention to the street while humming cheerfully.
“But it’s partly your fault tho, because your friend didn’t tell me that it was a vodka cupcake.”
Now Derek looked at the road nervously.
-----
Derek took Kwon Joo to the Sunset Strip. The 2.4 km long streets are filled with stores, boutiques, restaurants, and bars on either side of the road. It is one of the famous tourist destinations in Los Angeles.
Kwon Joo got out of the car after Derek opened the door for her. She was still uncomfortable with that but she’s too tired to protest now. So she just thanked him for all the things he did for her. They walked out of the parking lot.
Walking leisurely, Kwon Joo enjoyed the warm sunlight. It was almost noon but it’s not too hot. Kwon Joo looked at the sky. The blue sky and thick white clouds hindered the sunlight a little bit, and the shadows of the lined trees on the sidewalk were blurry.
Derek watched Kwon Joo who was smiling while looking at the sky. For him, she’s more beautiful than the sky today. Because Kwon Joo wasn’t paying attention to him, Derek had more time to watch her without being awkward.
Suddenly, Kwon Joo turned to Derek, making him flinch slightly. But she didn’t seem disturbed by him. She smiled widely and pointed at a shop with blue painted walls, three stores away from where they stood. “There’s an electronic shop there. I want to go there.”
Derek nodded immediately and they walked side by side until they arrived at the said store. She walked in first without waiting for Derek to open the door for her. Derek eyed her disapprovingly but Kwon Joo didn’t care.
In the display case, lined the latest model of cell phones, palm-sized Bluetooth speakers, and several pairs of earphones in various colours. Kwon Joo grabbed one blue metallic fist-shaped Bluetooth speaker on the display case. She’s staring at it excitedly.
“Is this what you heard from outside?” Derek stood next to her, also staring at the speaker.
Kwon Joo nodded cheerfully. “As soon as I heard it, I immediately thought of Agent Han.”
“Han Woo Joo?”
With a wide smile, Kwon Joo nodded again. She walked towards the cashier. “I will buy this for Agent Han.”
They exit the store after Kwon Joo paid for her shopping, this time Derek opened the door for her. He had already reached out to carry the paper bag of the speaker she bought when Kwon Joo put it into her backpack. She refused Derek with a smile that left him speechless.
Only walking for a few minutes, Kwon Joo’s ears caught something again. The source this time was a hardware store. Kwon Joo walked into the two-story store, followed by Derek. Since there was no air conditioner on the first floor, the main door was left open. Derek had no chance to open the door for her this time.
Without telling Derek her purpose of coming into the store, Kwon Joo had walked briskly to the centre of the room, passing the plates, bowls, and glasses shelves, heading straight for the bottle shelf. From the speaker on the corner of the shelf a woman's voice said: “buy one bottle and get one free”. That’s what she heard earlier.
While looking at the bottles on the shelf, Kwon Joo’s eyes caught two 1 litre sized plastic bottles. Both were transparent, but one was decorated with a man silhouette in black, the other one a woman silhouette in white. On the side of the bottle cap is written: Los Angeles.
“Couple bottles?” Derek managed to follow Kwon Joo without getting lost even though they were standing between the maze of two meters height shelves.
Kwon Joo nodded. “For Detective Park and his wife. I heard from Detective Goo that these days Detective Park looks dehydrated. Maybe if I’m buying him this, he will want to drink more.”
Derek couldn’t hold his smile. “You think of everyone but yourself. Didn’t you say you were going to buy clothes for Agent Park?”
“That was my original purpose,” Kwon Joo shrugged. “But I heard about her promotion and it reminded me of Detective Park.”
So she bought those bottles. Since they’re taller than her backpack, she couldn’t put them in it, giving Derek the opportunity to reach out. Without much protest, Kwon Joo gave the paper bag to Derek.
As she walked, Kwon Joo paid attention to all the voices around her. Then she heard K-pop music being played in one of the boutiques. Kwon Joo looked at a quiet road, then crossed the street.
Derek walked close next to Kwon Joo, protectively watching his surroundings until they reached the other side of the road. He watched Kwon Joo who walked down the sidewalk cheerfully, head looking around to her left and right excitedly.
The boutique she headed sells a lot of summer dresses. Derek looked through the display window in front of the store. Three mannequins wearing short dresses.
One mannequin wore a sleeveless pink dress and a big sash around the waist. One wore a white puff-sleeves dress with lace at the bottom. The other one wore a short-sleeves white dress with little floral patterns and a sweetheart neckline.
“Agent Park would love that floral dress,” Kwon Joo said excitedly.
Derek was still staring at the mentioned dress while tilting his head. He could picture Agent Park wearing that dress and of course she would look pretty. But more than Agent Park, he wanted to picture the woman next to him wearing that dress.
“Why don’t you try it?” Derek suggested with a neutral voice, trying not to make Kwon Joo feel that he forced her to do what he said. “So you’ll know the right size.”
Kwon Joo frowned but didn’t refuse. So she looked at Derek who returned her gaze, then she walked into the boutique, opening the door for herself.
The dress worn by the mannequin was the last stock, so Kwon Joo doubted if it would fit for Eun Soo. But she decided to try it. They’re the same size, more or less.
Derek waited for her in front of her dressing room. He stood up like a bodyguard with his arms crossed in front of his chest, back facing the door to the dressing room. He waited patiently until he heard Kwon Joo muttering behind the door.
“I think it would suit Agent Park,” Kwon Joo mumbled a little bit louder so that Derek could hear. “Wait a minute, I will take it off.”
“May I see?”
Derek’s request shouldn’t sound weird, but somehow Kwon Joo felt embarrassed. She’s not used to wearing a dress. In fact, the only skirt she ever wore was her uniform, and that was only for formal occasions. She was considering whether she should accept his request when he added.
“Just 5 seconds.”
Five seconds didn’t seem like a long time. So Kwon Joo unlocked the door and pushed it until it’s wide open. She lowered her head, feeling a little awkward when Derek looked at her with wide eyes. He didn’t hesitate to show his mesmerized expression.
“You’re very beautiful, Centerjang.” That was all he could say. He never once saw Kwon Joo with a skirt, let alone in a summer dress, and it turned out his image of her couldn’t even compare to the reality in front of him now.
The dress wrapped her body beautifully. The dress’s neckline was slightly wide so her slender neck was clearly visible. Every curve of the waist and hips fits perfectly, and the length was only slightly above her knee. She’s flawless.
Kwon Joo still couldn’t raise her head. She could feel Derek’s gaze scrutinizing her and she felt embarrassed. About five seconds had passed. She raises her head to talk, but Derek beats her to it.
“The only thing missing is the shoes,” Derek said cheerfully, making her look down at her sneakers. For a summer dress like this, clearly the shoes she was wearing didn't match. “Why don’t you just wear this dress, Centerjang? I will find you appropriate shoes.”
Shaking her head quickly, Kwon Joo closed the dressing room’s door and locked it. She couldn't wear this dress any longer. She felt like she’s going on a date with Derek and that thought made her heart beat faster.
And her heart did beat faster, but it's not because of Derek or her date with Derek. Her hair was caught in the back zipper of the dress. She thought of pulling her hair which would result in her losing about seven strands of her hair, or she could ask Derek for help and save her hair.
She mumbled alone, walking back and forth thinking when she heard Derek.
“Is there anything I could help with?”
She didn’t know what made Derek’s instincts so sharp. Kwon Joo might be sensitive in terms of her hearing, but Derek was sensitive in almost every aspect that involves her. Although embarrassed, Kwon Joo chose the latter. She opened the dressing room’s door and stared at Derek.
Derek looked back at Kwon Joo with slightly furrowed brows. Kwon Joo’s serious expression made him tense up too. “Is there any problem?”
Kwon Joo turned back, showing her back to Derek. Before she said anything, she felt his hands on the nape of her neck. He got what she was trying to say.
Carefully, Derek pulled Kwon Joo’s hair from the slider, but it wouldn’t obey him. He took a look at Kwon Joo’s face, she’s expressionless but her cheeks were a bit red. He decided to solve this problem quickly.
When she heard the zipper sliding, Kwon Joo immediately jumped, turned around to see Derek with wide eyes.
Derek raised his hands in defeat with a calming expression. “Hold on. Hold on. I lowered it a little bit so your hair doesn’t get stuck any deeper.”
Kwon Joo looked at Derek, listening to his calm voice, and she trusted his words. So she showed him her back, letting Derek help her.
After taking a deep breath, Derek went back to her hair. He just lowered the zipper by about 5 cm, but he could see many things. Apart from noticing her white nape and smooth skin, Derek saw one more thing.
Above her left shoulder blade, there was a tiny tattoo. 9.