#pyo jihoon

Not answering was enough for you to know your guess was correct. You scoffed, cold and indifferent as your hand reached for a piece of paper and ballpen, writing ‘letter of resignation’ on the blank sheet before standing properly. Lift your hand holding the paper, “Please… don’t worry and look into it.” Your stern tone made the trio look concerned as you took a step and smacked it to his chest, his calm gaze meeting with your stormy ones. Stepping away and letting the letter go and fall between you two, you grabbed your bag from the swivel chair and walked out the room, away from the concerned gazes of the employees trying to pretend they’d not heard anything.

Stepping outside the building you’d grown accustomed to, your hand landed on the ID hung on your neck, pulling it off your head as you read, ‘Kwon Y/N. ERPB Inspector’. Looking to the side to see the trash-bins, walking over and with a shaky breath threw the plastic card away before making your way to the main street. You walked far ahead rubbing the sides of your arms due to the cold breeze.

Hearing some commotion, you walked to the gathering crowd near a restaurant, seeing people cheer and coo amongst one another. Managing to peek between the figures to see a woman standing tall and blushing with a bright smile as your gaze landed to the man knelt before her presenting a bouquet of flowers and a golden ring. A proposal.

“---Say ‘I do’! Say ‘I do’!” The crowd chanted as you ended up clapping and chanting with them, giving a small smile. As the woman said yes, moving to hug the man and help him to his feet, you joined the crowd in cheering. Your gaze traced their movements, happy and hopeful as your memory made your vision flicker for a moment to see a familiar couple brightly greeting others and thanking them for their support before the same pair of strangers waved and thanked the crowd.

Turning away to walk to the nearby bus station, you dug your gloved hands into your pocket with a pained smile. Standing by the pedestrian crossing, you stood beside a pair of high-schoolers, cheekily teasing each other and showing off their cute matching charms. Your lips quivered as you saw yourself, standing with another girl as chatting happily, a ringing noise reaching your ears as the light turned red and pedestrians walked past.

Watching the two girls walk away made your hollow heart ache, eyes burning as you sniffled, rushing to cross the road with others, just barely making it to the bus stop and hopping on the vehicle. The light turned green as you stood by the hand-sling hung on the bus, staring out from the window to see one of the students had bid farewell and soon walked towards a boy donning a similar uniform. You inwardly scoffed, Just my luck… the world really has a way to make you lose motivation…

“No,” You shook your head, straightening your posture and letting out a heavy sigh, “I need to investigate that school. If the ERPB won’t then I will.”

. . .

“That was a close one, noona.”

As Geundae fixed your blanket, you beamed him a small smile, nodding as you peeled yourself an apple, “how did you even find me? I doubt those kids made it easy.” You said and sliced the apple in the middle, offering one half to the cute faced deputy. Geundae carefully took the half-sliced apple, “we started investigating. Some of the students helped identify who led the attack on you.” He explained as you bit into the apple.

You felt yourself seething at the fact some students drugged and cornered you in an alley. Roughly chewing the fruit in your mouth, “Did you find them?” Geundae flinched at your darkened gaze, “I will kill them all.” You spoke between chews, making the younger carefully take the knife you’d used to peel the fruit away as you sighed. But your chest felt strange as you hissed, reaching to grab the infusion stand and move the blanket off, “Oh, what’s wrong? You shouldn’t be standing up yet!” Geundae sputtered, moving to the other side of the bed to steady your standing figure.

Tightening your grip onto the cold steel as the other hand reached to your chest, feeling the slow abnormal heartbeat under your palm. “Call a doctor, Geundae-ah… please…” You felt your breath hitch as Geundae gently cradled your figure to sit down and frantically pressed the call button by the bed. Feeling your consciousness drift away and darkness helps to numb yourself from your body.

A strong charge made you gasp for air, coughing as you heard Geundae’s worried calls of your name, eyes looking to see the nearby nurses and doctors calm down to announce you’d been stabilized. Feeling exhausted, you let out short and pained breaths as a nurse carefully put an oxygen mask by your mouth, helping you as an old man talked to Geundae and the hospital staff.

Not long, the room was cleared as the old man and Geundae stood by the right of your bed. Your lips curved into a small smile, calling, “Minister…” “You finally remember I exist… you brat,” Choi Gangseok spoke with his rough voice but his gaze towards you became softer, “what were you thinking? An inspector going out by themselves… you and Gayun are so reckless.” Gangseok voiced, a faint chuckle slipping from your lips.

“Don’t curse her… she’ll nag you for an hour.” You voiced, clearing your throat from its sudden dryness as Geundae grabbed a bottle of water on the bedside and ushering it towards you. Using your elbow to prop yourself up, you thanked him before taking a sip of the liquid, your throat likely thanking you for finally drinking, “So it was you who took me here, Uncle?” You voiced after gulping the water down.

Gangseok stared at you with an unreadable expression, making you crack a small smile and glanced towards Geundae who looked confused and worried. You chuckling, “Don’t look so worried… I have some time left–” “--and how long is this time? It already got shortened, didn't it?” Gangseok interjected as you felt your voice falter, turning away from their gazes to rest the bottle by your bed, soon facing ahead and crossing your arms over your chest, pondering, “6 months.”

As Geundae took a step close, making Gangseok and you turned to him as realization dawned on his face, making you give a small smile and patted his arm that held the iron bar that made up your bed, “Noona… what’s wrong with you?” Geundae asked with his slightly deep tone, shaky and nervous, made your gaze soften and retracted her hands to rest on your lap.

“I’m sick, Geundae-ah… heart cancer, terminal,” You spoke with no hint of fear, already accepting how nature will take its course since you’d tried to ward it off for so long. Geundae’s expression fell as you put a hand to your chest, “don’t pity me too much, look at your face,” watching Geundae move to gently hug you as you pat his back, giving a pointed gaze to the old man nearby, adding “this is why I kept my diagnosis a secret, Uncle.”

The old man stared at you with solemn eyes, the gaze matching the one he gave the day you arrived at his home donning your hospital gown.

. . .

The room was silent as you smiled at the family picture of Choi’s, staring at the bright expression of the young Choi Gayun. You lifted your left hand, only to see the slightly red seeping from the bandages, lowering it and beaming a small sheepish smile to the girl, “Sorry, Gayun-ie… I broke our promise.” You spoke in a low voice, staring at the image before looking down to the small unhung pictures of the Choi family, one picture of you and Gayun sitting side-by-side in your elementary school clothes.

A loud thud made you look away from the picture frame to the old man standing by the doorway, the bag he carried and coat had fallen to the floor. His gaze widened as he called, “Y/N-ah?” You cracked a smile and faced your body towards him, politely bowing as he strode forward, holding you by your sides, “W-what happened? Why are you wearing—did you get hurt? Wait…” His gaze darkened, “did your parents do this?” Gangseok’s voice, usually deep and stern, had blended with worry and anger, making you look down.

“Uncle…” you had wanted to lie just as you did back then, but your eyes turned glossy and lips quivered, “I’m dying…” Your voice barely above a whisper as you felt his hands stiffened, his gaze on you cooling from its initial fury as your eyes burned with unshed tears, “It’s too late to get it fixed.” “What? Did you try to ask—no, let's go to the hospital again, maybe they were wrong…” Gangseok let her go, moving to pick his bag and coat from the ground.

“I have cancer… the treatment can’t help with it anymore…” You stared up, trying to keep the tears at bay as you uttered, “It’s hereditary… and I was the unlucky one to have it after skipping a generation.” Gangseok glanced back at you, seeing your weak body as you stared at him, “Can you comfort me… Uncle?” He let out a shaky breath, moving to stare at your glossy eyes and wrapped his arms around you, letting you rest your head on his shoulder, gently cradling you.

Gangseok sighed, “It’s okay… Uncle is here. So you can let it all out.”

. . .

“You are still a stubborn kid, Y/N.”

As Gangseok heaved a breath, you simply cracked a grin and crossed your arms over your chest, “I just don’t follow orders mindlessly, Uncle.” You stated as Geundae sniffled, shaking his head at your words as he packed his bag, “Anyway, why did you let Geundae look after me? You said you wouldn’t let anyone know.” “Deputy Bong was the one that found you, brat. And his skills can be executed remotely.” Gangseok stated as you pouted.

Zipping his bag and hurling it onto the trolley, Geundae took a step towards the door, “I will be going now, Minister, Noona.” He announced as you nodded, waving him goodbye as Gangseok hummed, “Alright, be careful and keep me updated with the progress of the two.” Geundae politely bowed before swinging the door to the side, shutting it carefully behind him.

You chuckled, “The kid is gonna worry now, Uncle—” you side-eyed him, clicking your tongue, “you’ve gotten sloppy.” You expressed as he walked towards the nearby couch, groaning as he sat, staring at the half-drawn window. Following his gaze, you ask, “Why, Uncle?” “You aren’t getting any better, Y/N.” Gangseok stated with an exhausted tone as your eyes met the elders, “Until when will you keep this up?” He added, the implication clear as your playful expression turned somber.

“We’ve talked about this—” “---do you really not want to tell him the truth?” Gangseok stated as you pressed your lips together, swallowing a lump in your throat, looking away from his heavy gaze. “He’s done everything just as you have… but why is it that you aren’t moving from that step?” The old man spoke carefully but his tone was firm and resolute. You looked to your hands, carefully using your right to tug the sleeve of your left arm, showing old scars that faded away.

“I won’t move… because I’m not her, and I have no desire to be her,” You spoke as you gently let go of the sleeve, exhaling through your nose and fixing your bed, “In this world, I will always cheer for what could’ve been their happy ending… even if I am the one getting hurt.”

. . .

Standing with the help of the infusion stand, you watched the sunrise at the rooftop of the hospital, feeling the cool breeze brush by your body. “Noona!” you turned your head, looking over your shoulder to see Geundae running towards you, huffing a breath as he put a thick coat over your body, “it’s freezing here, why are you outside!?” His worry mixed with exasperation made you smile, fixing the coat as you faced ahead to answer, “It was suffocating inside my room.”

Sensing his gaze, he stood by your infusion stand and stared ahead. “The Minister said you were resigning… and not to tell the others.” Geundae stated as you sighed, silently cursing the old man, he added, “Noona… you like Inspector Na, right?” His words made you stop muttering, letting out a shaky breath as you saw your warm breath.

“Yeah. was Noona obvious?” You asked with a small smile, tilting your head to properly look at him. Geundae shook his head as he fumbled for something in his pocket, soon presenting a weathered letter, small red droplets present as its color darkened with time, Geundae explained, “This fell back at that school, a student saw it fall from your bag and returned it to our temporary office… I was the only one there that time.”

Taking it from his grasp, you held it in your right hand with a small smile, “I wrote this for the first and last time… It was never meant to be mailed, I just wanted proof that I did fall in-love with someone.” “Proof?” Geundae interjected as you let the letter resting in your hands dangle to your side, clicking your tongue. “The day I wrote this letter, I was about to commit suicide.” You heard him choke on his spit, making you smile, “Don’t worry, noona was unfortunately saved.”

You lifted your hand holding the letter and ushered for him to take it, Geundae carefully holding the weathered piece of paper. “Gayun had saved me and made me promise never to do it again… I wrote another letter that day and then left the country.,” You leaned onto the infusion stand, “I told Hwajin to take care of Gayun because she loves him.” Your words made Geundae tear up, standing properly and turning the infusion stand to pat him on the shoulder, “Why? You love him so much too…” He asked as you sighed and gave a pressed smile recalling the day you came to visit Gayun, you felt your heart tightened.

“… because I knew better than anyone that Hwajin loves Gayun.”

. . .

Walking up to the house, you met with Hwaji who was still donning his military clothes, looking anxiously at the door. But those eyes weren’t simply filled with fear. It was hope, nervousness, anticipation and happiness all trying to present themselves but unable to settle. You inhaled, walking over to the man and kicking his leg, making him snap out of his daze and his gaze turned neutral as you gave a disapproving gaze.

“What the… are you really a Captain in the Special Forces, Na Hwajin?” You taunted Hwajin who cleared his throat as he said, “I was preoccupied—” “Likely story, your ears are red as a tomato,” You spoke, moving towards the door and pressing your thumb to the door handle’s lock as it beeped and unblocked, turning towards the stunned man, “Why? Uncle said I’m like another daughter, did you think I wouldn’t know the door lock?” You teased, sticking your tongue out as he playfully rolled his eyes.

You waved him to come inside, opening the door, “Gayun’s home, let’s go see her, Mr. Loverboy.” “Alright-alright, this is why you should never learn a secret.” Hwajin expressed as he entered the home, walking ahead of you as the door cracked open to show the bright smiling face of Choi Gayun, she called, “Y/N-ie! Hwajin-oppa!” Slowing your steps, you watched as Gayun rushed towards Hwajin, hugging him. You found yourself slowly smiling at their interaction.

Feeling your heart tightened, you felt your footsteps grow heavy and your body turn sensitive to the cool air. On that day, standing there on that warm spring day, you saw them in their own world filled with love and hope. You silently took a step back as you buried the feelings you’ve deemed wrong, chuckling as you snapped them out of their warm greetings, “What the, I come to visit and you both are here making me feel single?!” You teased as Gayun let go of Hwajin, rushing to her, hugging her as her body felt warm to the touch.

. . .

The panicked voices reached your ears as your eyes slowly fluttered open to see bright lights and ivory ceiling, turning to the side to see nurses coming and going as a doctor was giving orders. You felt your body turning heavier as the beeping noise of the heart monitor echoed in your ears, lolling your head to your left to see Geundae’s tear streaked face as he was holding his phone calling someone. Feeling your throat tightened, you gently lifted your hand struck with an IV, Geundae taking it into his own, “Noona! Noona, just hold on a little longer…” He pleaded as doctors had seemingly stopped what they were doing.

One said in a low voice, “her body is giving up…w-what do we do?” I finally reached my limit… I’m scared… Gayun will get upset to see me there so young. She’d be disappointed If I were her… She wouldn’t want to see me…

“Geundae-ah…don’t hurt for too long…” You uttered with a soft but shaky voice as he hummed, dropping the phone on the bed, taking your hand into his own, “take care of everyone… and I’m sorry.” Your voice spoke slightly breathless as you heard a distant commotion but sleep was pulling you away, your vision turning blurry and bleak. The door swung open to reveal a figure, your vision blurry but you knew who it was by heart.

Soon, reaching the side of your bed, you called, “Na Hwajin?” Geundae moved aside as Hwajin stood by your bed, you blinked as tears fell. Seeing his distraught expression, you let out a breathy chuckle and said, “Uncle told you… everything, right?” Hwajin’s gaze fell on your pale face, reaching for your hands as he sighed to feel it run stiff and cold, “Let go, Hwajin-ah… Gayun will get mad…” You uttered with a smile as you tried to stretch your fingers to let him go as a single tear fell from your eyes, “I hid it so well… so please let me go for the last time.”

Hwajin let out a shaky breath, he asked “Why didn’t…” “Because I wanted to be wrong…” His eyes widened briefly to see your weak and sincere smile, “And because I knew If I were her, she’d let me love you and get hurt… so I chose for her.” You stated as the heart monitor turned frantic as you felt your body stiffening as your eyes felt heavy, slowly shutting as the heart monitor made a long and steady beeping noise, unaware of the opened letter he’d dropped by his feet…

~ “--I’ve once thought, what if I were her? I would love you with all I have and cherish you, just like she does… But you don’t love me; you love her, someone who I also adore and respect. That is why loving you was both beautiful and painful so I do not regret it, By the time this letter will reach you, I won’t be able to know if you will shame me or not. So I will say it for the first and last time,

I’m sorry and I love you, Na Hwajin.” ~

~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~♥︎~

<>

Geundae and you were the only two normal people in the entirety of ERPB, which obviously led to the two of you growing closer with each other compared to the rest.

Hwa-jin was insane and kind of stupid, no offense, but he had a good heart. Han-rim was loud and even more insane, but passionate about things she cared for. The minister was only there for approval of cases and supervision but if you had to be honest, he had a bit of crazy in him too.

Out of all these people, you grew close to the Deputy Director who seemed to be the only normal one there. Being a new intern, you seeked company in the one most like you.

"I heard they opened up a new cafe today."

"Mm."

He hummed in response to you, fingers still typing away on his keyboard, eyes glued to the screen. You snacked away on those chocolate sticks you'd always cary around, interrupting the silence with a rare comment.

It was a comfortable silence. He was working but listening attentively, you could tell by the way he tilted his head slightly whenever you spoke as a response. For the most part, you let the cozy quiet sit between you two.

"Apparently it's not that good."

You added on after nearly fifteen seconds passed, munching on yet another stick of chocolate.

"Ah, really? Then we shouldn't go there then."

Geundae responded while his soft eyes were still glued to the monitor, his words catching you off guard. Why was he suggesting you two would go there together in the first place? Your face flushed at the simple comment but you brushed it off as a careless one.

The silence set in again, this time longer and slightly more tense.

"Deputy Bong, Intern ____. Get your stuff, we're going on a mission."

You two didn't hesitate the second Hwa-jin spoke. You closed the lid of your container and placed it inside your bag while he did the same with his tech devices.

An hour later, you arrived at a school that seemed abandoned. Weirdly enough, Han-rim hadn't accompanied the two of you and you hadn't exactly seen a notice of approval from the minister either. You ignored the oddities, maybe it was just in the rush of the moment and they didn't have the time to go through the right procedures.

You two stepped forward with Hwa-jin following close behind. Your steps echoed through the empty building, until all three of you stopped at once.

In the room to your left, there was a figure dressed in a black cloak that covered them entirely. You glanced at Geundae to make sure he was seeing what you were seeing, before you took a tentative step forward.

"Let me go first."

His hand wrapped around your wrist and pulled you back, his voice timid despite his brave front. You nodded as he stepped forward carefully, his eyes glancing at every corner as he did. You stepped close behind him for protection, not yours but his. You were well aware that despite his courageous act, he had barely any skills when it came to fighting.

The moment you two stepped inside, the door behind you shut with a loud slam. You turned abruptly and began banging on the door, Geundae following your lead and doing the same beside you.

"I'll let you two out soon, don't worry, but only once you confess whatever you two feel for each other. I'm sick of watching the two of you."

Confusion, embarrassment, and even a bit of fear overtook your entire being. Beside you, Geundae sighed as if he'd expected Hwa-jin to pull something like this.

"This is why I wanted to quit."

He mumbled under his breath, getting a small smile out of you. The tips of your ears were turning red as you blushed, but you pulled down the strands of your hair just enough to cover them.

You did like Geundae, more than you should've. You were an intern that certainly didn't know your place considering you'd fallen for the Deputy Director of ERPB.

But as you heard Hwa-jin's words, you let yourself believe for a second that he might've felt something back.

"I'm sure he'll get bored soon enough and open the door."

You stated as you slid down against the nearest wall and extended out your legs, taking a seat since you knew this would be a while. Meanwhile, Geundae finally mustered up the courage to approach the black cloaked figure and pull off its hood.

A mannequin, of course. How classic of him.

"I doubt he will."

Geundae took a seat beside you, crossing his legs and placing his hands on his knees. Your shoulders were touching, the small piece of contact making your pulse race. You wondered if he felt it too.

"Not unless we talk about...it."

Of course he did. The tension between the two of you since you'd joined last year hadn't gone unnoticed, even Hwa-jin of all people had caught a sniff of whatever this was.

"About what?"

You played dumb, your voice growing into that familiar quiet you two had always shared. His voice was low, dripping with warmth and love.

"I like you, ____. Everyone knows it, I'm sure you did too. You're not just a final resort to me because everyone else is loud, I feel more peaceful when you're there. Whether you talk or not, I still feel happy just by being at your side."

Okay, so you had no idea any of this was going on. You had just found out in the span of ten minutes that everyone knew he was in love with you and that you felt the same back, aside from the two of you yourselves, that this entire scheme was a plan to make him confess, and that he had no idea just how clueless you had been until now.

"I...didn't know."

Was all you could say, watching as his softened features tensed up slightly at your hesitant tone. He was expecting a rejection, he was expecting anything except for your reciprocation.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm just surprised. I really had no idea but I– I do like you too. I feel the same. It's all just a bit too sudden."

You admitted honestly as you shyly diverted your gaze to your shoes, feeling his eyes still glued to the side of your head.

"You like me too?"

"Yes."

You didn't hesitate this time, the word a silent admission of the feelings you had been harbouring this entire time. The simple word holding the weight of an entire year.

"Then let's not be sudden. Let's take it at our pace, as slow as we can, as slow as you want."

His words came out too quick, as if he was worried he'd lose you if he didn't say them any faster. He leaned forward, eyes wider and too aware of every feature on your face. His hand slowly, shaking, reached out to yours and covered it entirely, thumb caressing the back of your hand as it rested on your thigh.

"There's absolutely no rush."

He added carefully after a second's pause, a small smile on his face. He didn't ask for anything, he didn't expect anything either. He simply looked satisfied with everything that had just been declared. You smiled back in response, giving him a nod.

"I'd like that."

You whispered for only the two of you to hear. The sentimental moment was cut short when the door suddenly opened again with a bang. He retracted his hand, you distanced the proximity between you two.

Hwa-jin was back. No, he hadn't heard a word being said inside because the metal door was too thick for any sound to leave. He'd gotten bored, like you'd expected, and given up.

"I'm really hoping you two are done here."

He took a glance at the distance between you two where you sat, the way you suddenly got up when he arrived, the way Geundae followed right after and stood beside you.

He didn't say a word as he turned around, and neither did the two of you. He had likely noticed the pink on Geundae's face as he shifted near you, trying to get closer but shying away, while you refused to meet anyone's eyes in complete embarrassment and fluster.

Hwa-jin walked out first. Geundae finally built up the courage to stand beside you, a deep breath leaving his lips as he glanced at you. His hand reached out and took yours.

You turned your head to gaze back at him, offering him a smile but no words. You didn't have to speak for him to understand you. You didn't have to do anything.