On The Run - Sunki

The Plan

"Before talking about the plan, there's something we have to think about" announced Sunoo. "Chief Park."

Jungwon involuntarily smiled upon hearing the last two words.

"What about him?" he asked.
"You said he's the one who called in Niki right?" started Sunoo. "There's a possibility that he's involved in all this."
"You really think so?" asked Jungwon, shocked.
"There's no way to know now, but it's an option" explained Sunoo. "So from now on, we can't trust either Niki nor the Chief."

They both looked devastated at that last comment.

"Okay, so we have to do this on our own?" asked Jungwon.
"Not necessarily" said Sunoo. "I want to check if Niki had something to do with this woman. So I'm going to call him and ask him to go out. Then I'll try to unmask the truth."
"Isn't it too dangerous?" replied Jungwon. "Think about it. If our hypothesis is true, then that woman kidnapped two students, put Beomgyu in the hospital and uses Niki to spy on you. Imagine what she'll do to you if she finds out you're trying to play her."
"Well, she messed with the wrong person" announced Sunoo. "I'll show her how it's done."

Jungwon both admired Sunoo's confidence and facepalmed himself at those words.

"Okay so, next step is date with Niki to find out more about her?" summarized Jungwon.
"Yep" confirmed his friend. "I'll call him and if everything goes as planned, I'll call you right after okay?"
"Oh boy I'm not getting a good night sleep tonight am I?" said Jungwon.
"Oh excuse me for disturbing your sleep my prince" replied Sunoo in a condescending tone.
"Just call Niki" said Jungwon.

Sunoo walked until the wall and dialed Niki's number.

"Hi, Niki" he said after a few seconds.

"I was thinking about the arcade games and was wondering if your offer to show me how to play was still on" he continued, smiling widely.

"Oh, great!" he said. "I'll see you then!"

He put the phone back on the wall and walked towards Jungwon, who had just witnessed everything from afar.

"Congrats, it sounded very real" said Jungwon, smirking.
"How dare you accusing me? This is just for work" replied Sunoo. 

It's not at all a dilemma between thinking he might be a bad guy and still finding him cute.

"Yeah sure" added Jungwon. "Very professional."
"It's a good thing I'm leaving now" said Sunoo. "I'm just riding your closet first okay?"
"Even if I say no, you'll do- oh okay he's already in my room" said Jungwon, left alone in the kitchen.

~

Sunoo was waiting in front of the arcade door. He had spent his whole car ride trying to convince the officer part of his brain that Niki was innocent. His heart wanted to trust him.

Finally he recognized Niki's car entering the parking lot. Soon Niki himself showed up, a big smile on his face.

"I'm so happy you called" he said.
"I felt like we could use a little time off to rest" replied Sunoo, smiling back.
"Shall we?" answered Niki, opening the door for Sunoo.

They entered and Niki guided Sunoo, a hand on his shoulder, towards his favorite one. Niki had already prepared several quarters and inserted one in the machine to begin the game.

He showed Sunoo how to play it, explaining each button and telling him about the purpose of the game. For a few seconds, Sunoo just enjoyed seing Niki so passionate about something. His voice was so sweet and the energetic person he knew had disappeared behind a calm and patient teacher. After a few minutes, he let Sunoo give the game a try and stayed gentle even though Sunoo was really bad at it.

After this first adventure, they tried other machines, sometimes playing together and sometimes playing against each other.
Sunoo's heart felt lighter every time he heard Niki's laugh.

How could someone so sweet be involved with that kidnapper woman? That's impossible.

"Are you hungry?" asked Niki suddenly.
"Actually, now that you're speaking about food, I am" replied Sunoo, realizing he hadn't eaten in about one hour.

Niki smiled and Sunoo felt his heart skipping a beat.

"How about some Takoyaki?" suggested Niki. "I know a place that makes the best ones in town."
"I've never tried it" admitted Sunoo. "But if you do know the best in town, we have to try them."

They walked outside and Niki opened the passenger door of his car, inviting Sunoo to sit inside.

Why is he so adorable?

Niki drove more peacefully than usual, which surprised Sunoo.

He's not even singing or talking non stop. There's something different.

After fifteen minutes, Niki stopped the car and got out. They were in front of a cute and convivial Japanese restaurant. They got inside and Niki asked for a table near the window. After ordering, Sunoo decided it was time to talk about the woman. He needed to casually bring it up and closely watch Niki's reactions.

"Thank you so much for all the fun we had at the arcade" started Sunoo. "I felt like I was a kid again."
"You're welcome!" replied Niki. "You played quite well actually."
"You're just saying that" said Sunoo, even though the compliment had worked. "Now I get why Heeseung and Sunghoon spend a lot of time there."
"Going there also made me think about them" added Niki.

He looks genuinely concerned about them. That's good right?

The waiter brought their takoyaki at that moment. Sunoo smiled with his eyes, waiting impatiently to taste them. The two partners started eating and Sunoo had been right to trust Niki on this one. It was delicious.

"We'll find them. I promised Jaeyun and Beomgyu" said Sunoo, continuing their conversation.

Niki looked right into his eyes and Sunoo saw sadness in them.

"I'm sure we will" he said, putting his hands under the table.

Hiding his hands. Common sign of discomfort.

"I'm still thinking that we might have missed something though. There must be a witness that we overlooked" said Sunoo, paying attention to every movement Niki made.

"I don't know..." replied Niki. "There was nothing in the tape, nor their room. And the arcade owner saw them leaving."
"What about the woman?" asked Sunoo.
"What woman?" asked back Niki, frowning lightly.
"You know, the movie theater one" added Sunoo.

Niki tightened his grip on his chopsticks and slightly clenched his jaws.

Did I see it right?

"I'm sure she had nothing to do with them" replied Niki, but his voice wasn't stable.

It broke Sunoo's heart, but this was a proof.

Why would anyone react like that if it wasn't to protect said woman? Jungwon and I were right. He's on her side.

I can't believe it.