75 days || YeonGyu / BeomJun

seventy-five days with a dumb cop (I fell inlove with him)

The gang is collectively miserable.

Taehyun is lying dramatically across the bench like he's in a K-drama. Sunghoon is threatening to call his rich dad. Lia is yelling at Yeji for being clumsy. Again. And Beomgyu? He's sulking in the corner with his arms crossed, wearing the universal expression of a grumpy boyfriend who definitely doesn't miss his boyfriend. At all. Obviously.

The cell door creaks open.

Enter Officer Choi Yeonjun—in full uniform, smug grin in place, arms loaded with snacks like he's Santa Claus in a police drama.

"Oh wow. Look who it is. The traitor," Yeji said, glaring.

Sunoo crossed his arms. "How does it feel to arrest your own boyfriend, huh?"

Yeonjun didn't even flinch, eyes locked on one person only.

"It hurts," he said dramatically. "I cried a little. In the bathroom. Alone."

Beomgyu let out a laugh. "Good. You deserved it."

Yeonjun gave a sheepish smile and slid something through the bars. "Still mad at me? Even though I brought your favorite choco milk and gummy bears?"

Beomgyu side-eyed the offering like a diva at a red carpet. But he snatched the snacks anyway with a scoff.

"God," Taehyun groaned. "Get a room. Or at least let us out of this one."

"Don't worry, guys," Yeonjun said cheerfully. "I'm on night guard duty."

The entire cell burst into laughter.

"You volunteered," Sunghoon pointed out, smirking.

Kai's voice echoed from outside the office: "HE BEGGED FOR IT."

Beomgyu rolled his eyes, snorting. "You're so obvious. It's embarrassing."

Yeonjun leaned against the bars, resting his chin on his hands like a lovesick high schooler flirting through a cafeteria table.

"But it's worth it," he murmured. "'Cause you're mine now."

Beomgyu blushed. "You're so annoying."

"Say it again."

"You're annoying."

"No," Yeonjun grinned. "The other thing."

Beomgyu grabbed a gummy bear and chucked it at his head. It bounced off Yeonjun's forehead with a soft thwack.

Yeonjun's grin only grew wider.

"Still worth getting hit. Still the happiest cop alive."

Heeseung groaned from the back. "Can someone put me in solitary? I'd rather be alone than third-wheel this prison rom-com."

2:08 AM

The station has fallen still. The hum of the overhead lights is the only sound, broken now and then by Taehyun shifting in his sleep or Sunoo mumbling nonsense into the stale air. Everyone else has passed out—some curled in corners, some stretched across benches like fallen soldiers of chaos. A lone soda can rolls lazily across the floor as the AC kicks in.

Beomgyu sits in his cell, hoodie pulled over his head, knees hugged to his chest. He's awake. He's not sure why. Or maybe he knows exactly why.

Then he heard footsteps.

Soft rubber soles echo gently as Yeonjun walks in, dragging a chair across the floor until it screeches to a stop right outside Beomgyu's cell.

He sits, leans forward until his arms rest on his knees, and lets his forehead tap lightly against the cold metal bars.

"Hey," Yeonjun says, voice soft as the hour.

Beomgyu lifts his head. The hallway light paints golden shadows across his tired face and puffy cheeks.

"What are you doing here?" Beomgyu whispers. "Aren't you supposed to be guarding the perimeter or whatever?"

"I am," Yeonjun says. "I'm guarding the most dangerous criminal here."

He grins. Beomgyu rolls his eyes, but the faint twitch of his lips betrays him.

"You're such a loser," Beomgyu mutters.

Yeonjun shrugs. "Mhm. But I'm your loser now."

Silence stretches between them, not awkward, just... full. Full of things left unsaid, things being said anyway. The bars don't feel like a jail cell. Not tonight. Just two hearts blinking softly in the dark.

"You really scared me, you know," Yeonjun says.

"The dramatic public proposal?"

Yeonjun smiles, just a little. "That too. But more than that... I was scared you'd never forgive me. That I'd ruined it. For good."

Beomgyu is quiet. His eyes drift to the snacks Yeonjun left earlier. To the key on Yeonjun's belt. To Yeonjun's knee bouncing nervously, like a kid outside the principal's office.

"You did hurt me," Beomgyu finally says. "That fake cheating thing—God, it messed me up."

Yeonjun's smile vanishes. He leans in closer, voice raw.

"I know. I hate myself for it every single day. But if I could go back... I'd do it all differently. I'd hold your hand that night. I'd kiss your forehead and tell you everything. I wouldn't lie. I'd never lie."

Beomgyu's eyes stay on him. Quiet. Burning.

"Do you really want me?" he asks, voice so small it nearly disappears between the bars.

Yeonjun's response is instant. "I've always wanted you. Even when you threw rocks at me. Even when you called me an idiot. Even when you ignored me so hard I thought I was invisible."

A breath.

"Even now?" Beomgyu asks. His voice cracks.

Yeonjun nods. "Especially now."

Beomgyu scoots closer, resting his chin on his knees. The bars feel too big and too small. He could reach for him. So he does.

He lifts his pinky and curls it through the cold metal.

Yeonjun sees it. His heart stumbles. He links his pinky back without hesitation.

No words. Just that quiet, trembling touch. In a dim jail cell. In the middle of the night. And somehow—it's enough.

"I love you," Yeonjun whispers.

Beomgyu meets his gaze. "I know."

"You'll say it back someday?"

Beomgyu smirks, a glint in his tired eyes. "Maybe. When I'm not behind bars."

Yeonjun lets out a soft chuckle, standing up.

"Goodnight, baby criminal."

"Goodnight, officer."

Yeonjun turns off the light as he leaves.

And even in the dark, the warmth between them glows like a secret star.