Yoongi held out a cup of steaming hot coffee to the black-eyed raccoon perched over the dining table with as much caution as a bomb squad handling a live explosive.
"You good?"
"Of course! Just peachy!" The raccoon replied with great joy.
He eyed the utensil in the raccoon's hand that she was desperately trying to scoop her soup up with and sighed.
"Maybe you should take the day off today. I can hand in the leave request for you." He offered, sitting down on the dining table as he warily watched her. She sprung down from the table at his offer, dripping what little soup she managed to scoop over herself.
"Why would I take the day off?! Oh! Do I look sick? Well, it's nothing a little make-up can't manage." She responded, injecting as much fake enthusiasm into her voice as possible. Her squeaky tone grated on his nerves.
"Heiran, it's okay to admit it if you're feeling miserable, you know? Just cry it out. Don't do this sh*t. Whatever this is supposed to be. You're freaking me out."
Heiran slammed the fork on her table, making him jump. He splashed his coffee down his shirt and cried in pain as it burned his skin. "Oww, what the—"
"Why must I cry? For what?" She hissed, her livid eyes drilling holes on him. "Oh. Right. The breakup? I almost forgot about it. Who did I break up with again? I'm sorry. I don't even remember who it was because I GOT OVER IT!" She finished with a hysterical laugh.
Yoongi plucked some paper towels off the table to clean up the spilled coffee. This is why he should have been more cautious. He knew he shouldn't have provoked her.
"That's how easy it was. It only took me two minutes to move on." She bragged jovially, examining her nails. Yoongi highly doubted the truthfulness of her statement. "This is nothing new, Yoongi. You know how it is. I get into a relationship, I break up, and I move on. It's always been like that. I'm not miserable at all! This is just normal." She finished, taking a careful sip of her coffee.
"Riiight..." He drawled, "And that's not a fork you are trying to scoop your soup with."
Heiran blinked down at the fork on the table. "Oh! My mistake. Where's my brain?!" She cried, happily.
Yoongi shook his head. "Yeah. I'm wondering the same."
Heiran shortly returned with another fork. Yoongi didn't even bother pointing it out to her that she had gone and gotten the exact same utensil again, leaving her to battle the soup with her fork.
"So...you're really coming to the office today?"
"Yes! I need to work to earn money, Yoongi. That's the sad truth about life. No matter how much I wish it did, money just won't grow on trees!"
Yoongi didn't understand what was up with her high-pitched anime voice. It was insanely annoying to the point it was making his ears itch.
"Well, good luck." He said, at last, giving up on trying to make her see sense.
"Aww, that's really nice of you, Yoongi—"
"F*ck this sh*t! I'm not dealing with this anymore."
* * *
Heiran walked inside her office building, feeling an insane amount of trepidation she should have felt way earlier. She was not ready to face him. How insane was she to think that she could handle it? The thought of catching a glimpse of him, even from afar, was not a pleasant one. One sight of him felt like it could bring her down. One glance would be all it took for her facade to break.
Even now, it wasn't too late to turn her back and walk out. It wasn't too late to take the day off but that felt too much like giving up, like accepting defeat. He was the one who broke up with her. If she stayed back home, he would know that he'd got to her. Heiran would never in a million years let him have that satisfaction. She had to be brave and show him that she can live without him and that he was nothing significant enough to break her. That was right. If anyone should be taking the day off, it had to be Jeon Jungkook. He should be the one suffering for making disastrous decisions as he did, which Heiran was sure that he will regret.
Straightening her shoulders, she strolled towards the elevator, checking her phone for any new updates from Officer Kang, the detective on the case, about her newest attempted homicide trial. Recent events had made it hard for her to focus on her work. Now that those distractions were out of her life, she can finally turn her attention to the things that truly mattered in her life. Heiran stepped inside the elevator and pressed the button for her floor level. It wasn't until she turned to take her place in the elevator that she noticed another presence there. The presence of the very person she'd been desperately hoping to avoid.
Jeon Jungkook stood at the back of the elevator, reading some articles on his phone tablet. The sight of him made her falter in her steps, her heartbeats quickening at once. Who had she been kidding? She couldn't do this. She absolutely wasn't ready to face him. She took a step back, her fingers frantically searching for the button that opened the elevator doors. Her sudden movement must have caught his attention because he looked up from his tablet. His eyes found her and he stilled.
For a heart-wrenching moment, they stood in silence, speechlessly drinking in each other's vision. Something flashed behind his glasses, in the depths of his dark-brown eyes, something that felt like a desperate yearning. And then it was gone in the blink of an eye, as if it never existed in the first place, his gaze returning back to the tablet.
Heiran stumbled around as the elevator doors opened to get out of there as quickly as possible. Her heart couldn't handle this interaction. She needed to breathe, clear her mind and rethink her decisions. However, the oncoming traffic of prosecutors and office staff barrelling in to catch the elevator before it left blocked her way, slowly forcing her back to the end of the elevator, right next to where he stood. Soon, the doors closed shut and then she was helpless, doomed to stay beside him for the entirety of the elevator ride.
Trying hard to conceal the shake of her fingers, Heiran scrolled through her phone, searching for Officer Kang's contacts. He still hadn't reached out to her and there were no new updates. She exited the app, trying to find something, anything, to take her mind off the man who stood beside her, paying no heed to her whatsoever.
Come to think of it, he didn't even look that affected by her presence and didn't seem to care that she was right next to him. His gaze remained on the tablet screen, his face blank. Heiran couldn't help but wonder if she was the only one feeling so wretchedly upset by what happened between them. Was she the only one who felt this searing pain inside her chest as each second passed? Was it that easy for him to forget her and move on?
It wasn't that Heiran was jealous of his nonchalance; she just felt that it was so terribly unfair.
When the elevator doors opened next, she was the first one to get off even if it was the wrong level. It took everything in her not to spare him another glance, to see if he cared one last time. But she held herself back.
There was no use in clinging to the past. Heiran had to get her mind straight and move forward. She had to focus on the things that mattered and forget about him. She would show him that she could forget and move on too. That was the only way she would survive this fall.
That was the only way she would live.
If he wanted her to be miserable, then she wouldn't. If he wanted her to stop what she was doing, then she wouldn't. Oh, and she wasn't giving up on the entire operation about the scam clinics either, even if that was what Jungkook had hoped for by breaking up with her. She had made a promise to Namjoon. To Dan Ho. And she'd make sure to honor it.
It would take a lot more than Jeon Jungkook to make her quit.
* * *
Heiran left her office that day quite late, working into the night on her newest case. It had been a while since she felt the rush of solving a case, issuing an indictment, and letting those who felt that it was too unfair battle it out in the court. But outside of the comforts of her office, her home felt like the last place she wanted to be. It will be too quiet, and then her thoughts and her memories would come to haunt and hurt her. She will be their prisoner for the night no matter how much she tries to sleep. It felt horrible.
Heiran needed the buzz of alcohol in her blood to keep them at bay, she needed the lull of the bitter elixir to gain a dreamless sleep. So she'd parked the car in the nearest parking spot available and walked the rest of the way to the roadside convenience store near her apartment complex to grab a few bottles. The streets were quite empty but a few stores still remained open. The night was warm and she breathed out a sigh and looked up at the sky. As expected they were starless, empty. The sight of it saddened her but she shook her head and walked into the 24/7 convenience store.
Back from the store with a bag of bottles clinking together, Heiran couldn't help but feel unsettled. She couldn't quite put a finger on it but something felt ominous. The hairs on the back of her neck rose in anticipation. Something bad was about to occur, she could feel it in her gut. She couldn't tell how much she trusted her instincts anymore but as her mind grew alert, she swept her eyes around her surroundings just in case. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. The streets were as empty as ever. She told herself to calm down and get a grip but her mind wouldn't listen. Heiran slipped her hand into her handbag, seeking the comfort of her pink taser inside, while her other hand opened the contacts on her phone to find Yoongi's number. Maybe it was because she was feeling way too alone. Maybe Yoongi's voice might bring her some comfort. Before she could press call, the sliding door of the black van parked next to the sidewalk slid open, startling her out of the blue.
A masked man dressed in all black grabbed her waist, pressing his gloved hand against her mouth to muffle her cries, and tried to drag her in. Heiran's first instinct was to thrash out and bite down on the hand but his glove was too thick for her bite to do any real damage. Snapping out of her initial panic, she launched her bag of soju bottles to the back where she guessed the assailant's head would be. Due to some fortunate luck, her bottles struck the man's face, causing him to lose his grip on her waist. She pried out her taser at once from her handbag and shoved it into the chest of her assailant, tasing the living daylights out of him. As his grip faltered, she wrenched his arm off her torso and took off with everything she had, shouting for help at the top of her lungs.
Adrenaline scorched through her veins and she directed all the strength that came with it into her legs to get the hell out of there. She glanced back just once to make sure the man was not following her. But to her horror, the driver of the van climbed out of the vehicle and ran after her, his scary eyes determined to capture her.
Just who were they? Why were they after her?
A sudden possibility occurred to her that sent her fear levels skyrocketing. Was it Lys? Were they onto her?
If so, she absolutely couldn't let herself get caught. Who knew if that mafia would ever let her see the next day alive if she got caught? This was life and death. She pushed her blonde waves out of her face and ran as fast as she could, crying out at the top of her lungs but the driver was catching up to her faster than she had anticipated.
Outrunning him wasn't a sensible choice. It will be hard to achieve unless she can weaken his pace in some manner or discourage him from coming after her. She had to injure him. A sudden idea sprung to her mind. Heiran stopped and swung her handbag at her attacker's face as he pounced. Her temporary weapon made contact with his skull but the cushiony material of the handbag made the blow too weak. The driver recovered fast, grabbing hold of her handbag before she could retreat, and yanked her towards him. Heiran raised her taser at once, ready to strike him down with its blue sparks but he swatted it out of her hands in one swift move and the taser clattered to the ground.
Out of options, she let go of her handbag and turned to run but she was too close to the driver for him to grab her by the waist from the back. The man enveloped his beefy arms across her torso. Heiran cried out loud for help but he closed her mouth at once. She clawed at his arm, desperate for release but the man was too strong. He was like an immovable rock, no matter how much she tried to injure him, her efforts were proving futile as he simply began to lug her back to the van. Regardless of how hard she tried to plant her feet on the ground, he dragged her along as if she weighed as much as a feather. Her skinny, weightless body form didn't help her case much either.
The panic finally began to set in as reality dawned on her. Was she really going to die? Was this the end? She tried to keep the darkness invading her vision at bay from the lack of oxygen reaching her lungs. Her lungs refused to breathe properly and her profusely sweating body made it hard to get a grip on her attacker. Of all the worst possible times she could have a panic attack, this one took the cake. Trying to shake the fear out of her mind, she imagined Angela's firm voice teaching her the breathing techniques back inside the doctor's office but her panic had made it hard for her brain to focus. Everything felt hopeless as her heels scraped against the pavement as the man dragged her back to the van. She looked around desperately, hoping to find someone who might come to her rescue.
Did no one hear her cries? Why wasn't anyone there? Why did no one hear the commotion? Was the world too uninterested and heartless to look out for the source of a distressed woman's screams?
Was she really going to die?
No. This couldn't be the end. She had been in this situation once before. She couldn't let this happen to her a second time. That would be utterly idiotic of her. That was why she had made sure to learn everything there was so that she wouldn't be caught in this situation once again. She had prepared for this day. She knew what to do. Heiran just had to clear her mind. She just had to stop for a moment and think.
"Think. Ahn Heiran, think."
A calm, mellow voice breezed into her mind, silencing the pandemonium inside her mind. A strange tranquility descended inside her brain. In a blink, she was back on the hard floor mats of the Taekwondo studio, Jungkook's arms around her in a back hug, his jolly voice singing in her ears.
"What would you do if someone grabbed you from behind?" He pulled her flush against his chest, his strong arm encasing her torso while the other arm firmly wrapped across her shoulders so that she couldn't move. "Just like this?"
"I don't know. Cry?" She answered, faking disinterest, containing a crafty smile on her lips.
"You're not thinking." He huffed, but his tone was amused. "Or are you liking this way too much? You don't want to get out?"
"Ahem!" She cleared her throat, changing the subject so he couldn't catch on, "Hardly. Attacks from the back are sneaky. A coward's move."
"Yet, they can be really effective..." He murmured, his lips brushing against her ears. His hold on her suddenly strengthened, making it hard for her to breathe.
"Wait, Jungkook. It hurts—"
"Think, fast." He sing-songed, gradually tightening his grip as each second passed.
"Wait! You're suffocating me! Stop!" She cried, thrashing out her arms.
"No one's going to stop just cuz you asked, Ran." He chuckled wickedly.
"What am I supposed to do? I'm not strong enough to throw you over my shoulders!"
"Ah! There's the answer I'm looking for," he replied, obviously pleased that she knew what to do, but he still did not release his hold. "So do it."
"I can't! You're way too heavy for me!" Heiran cried, trying to break free of his grip.
"Then you'll just have to throw me fast if you don't want to break your back."
"That sounds really exciting. Now let me go, Jeon Jungkook!"
"Nuh-uh. No can do, ma'am. You'll have to fight your way to freedom." Heiran could almost feel his evil grin against her ears. The man was devious, it seemed as if he really would smother her to unconsciousness if she didn't flip his royal arse over her shoulders.
"Fine! If that's what you want. Teach me then." She choked out, exasperated and a little breathless.
"Flipping someone over your shoulder is really easy if you know how to do it. All you have to do is grab the arm. Push your back against your attacker's hip and bend over fast. Don't forget to quickly pull their arm towards you at the same time. Catch them off guard, and do it as fast as possible. Before you know it, your little attacker would be on the ground, hopefully with a broken spine." He explained. "Now, try it out."
"I don't think this is a good idea." She answered seriously, both fearing for her own spine and his.
"Just do it!" He encouraged her.
"You sure?"
"Absolutely, Love. Now remember. Grab the arm, bend over, and pull! Repeat it back to me."
Heiran hooked both her hands into the bend of her assailant's elbow, "Grab the arm." She quickly pushed her bottom into his hips, bending over before he could become the wiser about what she was about to do. "Bend over and pull!" She pulled his arms with all her might. The man went flying over her shoulders, his back crashing into the cold hard concrete ground. He let out a terrifying cry as his head thudded against the ground.
For a moment, she stood stunned at what she had done. She did it. She actually managed to throw the man over her shoulders. All because of...
A throbbing pain pulsed inside her chest. Shaking out of her trance, she struck her heels against her attacker's face for good measure and ran as fast as she could towards the nearest open store she could find.
Thankfully, that newly opened flower shop across her apartment still had its lights on. Heiran kept her eyes on the signboard that spelled out its name and sprinted towards the shop. Crossing the streets, she ran inside the shop without a backward glance and burst inside, giving the middle-aged woman at the counter a fright.
"EXCUSE ME! PLEASE! CALL THE POLICE!"
A/n: How are we feeling, kittens? Still as frustrated as ever?