When she woke up the next morning in a bed that wasn't hers, she felt disoriented for a moment. Her mind was still tangled in some dream she couldn't remember, keeping her distant from reality and the memories of the previous night. She reached out towards the empty side of the bed, grabbed the pillow, and hugged it to herself. Inhaling deeply, the scent immediately made her feel more at ease. It was then that the memories slowly came back, and she realized she was at Jinhwan's place.
She sat up in bed. She was wearing her silk pajamas—shorts and a tank top that accentuated her figure. There had been a time, years earlier in high school, when she felt deeply self-conscious about her fuller breast, so different from the petite and elegant girls she grew up with. Unlike them, Detective Oh often felt vulgar, a sentiment that had taken years to shake off.
She got out of bed, her feet sinking into the soft anthracite gray carpet. The contrast with the cold parquet floor as she placed her palms on it sent a shiver through her. She walked slowly to the living room, expecting to find Jinhwan there, but he wasn't. This surprised her. The sofa was empty, though the blankets were still disheveled on top of it. She placed her hand on them and felt they were still warm, so he couldn't have been up for long.
At that moment, she heard the sound of water running in the shower from the bathroom, the door to which was left slightly ajar, perhaps by mistake.
She lingered on the sofa, her gaze resting on the slightly ajar bathroom door. Perhaps, if she were drunk, she'd have the courage to enter and take a look, but she wasn't even sure she'd do it then. It felt wrong, like she would be invading the privacy of a young man she had no real connection with—at least not yet. So, she stayed seated, feeling strangely awkward.
Not even five minutes later, Jinhwan emerged from the bathroom. He was wearing a towel around his waist, but his upper body was completely exposed. His skin was still damp, dotted with tiny warm droplets falling from his brown hair. He looked surprised when he saw her sitting on the sofa.
"You're already awake," he said, then brought the towel in his right hand to his head, rubbing his hair to absorb some of the excess water. "It's really early, you know?"
Detective Oh hadn't thought about the time. For some reason, she hadn't checked the clock, and now that she thought about it, she'd completely ignored her phone left on the nightstand by the bed. She glanced around the room, searching for a wall clock but found none.
"What time is it?" she asked. Jinhwan glanced at his Apple Watch.
"It's 6:10," he said, "and we need to be at the station by 9:30."
Detective Oh was surprised she had woken up so early, especially since she had fallen asleep quite late the night before. Maybe she had slept so soundly that those few hours were enough to fully recharge her. However, it was clear that they still had plenty of time before they needed to head to work, and they had to do something to pass the time. She got up from the sofa and pointed towards the kitchen. "Do you like pancakes?" she asked.
Jinhwan seemed to consider it for a moment. "The savory Korean kind or the sweet American kind?"
"I was thinking of making the sweet ones, but the savory ones sound good too."
"I don't think I have any maple syrup, but I definitely have some kimchi and pickled carrots."
"Do you have any soybean sprouts?" Detective Oh asked as she moved towards the stove.
"Noona, you know I was happy to have you stay here and that you don't need to feel indebted, right?"
"I'm not doing this because I feel I owe you. I'm hungry and want breakfast, but I don't feel like going out to eat."
Jinhwan shrugged in a gesture of surrender. "Then I won't stop you. If you need eggs and flour, they're in those cupboards over there."
Detective Oh took a bowl and the various ingredients, beginning to assemble them to make typical Korean pancakes. Meanwhile, Jinhwan retrieved a change of clean clothes and went back to the bathroom to put them on. When he returned to the kitchen, he was wearing a pair of tight black pants and a white shirt, which he would later layer with his detective jacket.
"I don’t think I've ever seen a woman cooking in this kitchen," he said, approaching her.
"Do you usually chase them away before dawn?"
Jinhwan laughed, amused. "You might be surprised to know that I’m not the kind of guy who brings women home... for certain things, I prefer hotels."
"Or karaoke bars," Detective Oh said with a pointed tone.
Jinhwan rubbed his face. "Noona, about last night..."
Detective Oh flipped the pancakes with a spatula so they cooked evenly on both sides. "There's no need to talk about it. We were drunk, and at that moment, it seemed like the right thing to do. Sometimes thoughts weigh on the mind to the point where it’s hard to think clearly."
"Is that really how you see it?"
But even Detective Oh didn’t know the answer to that question. She still saw Jinhwan as a colleague, despite her undeniable attraction to him. She wasn’t sure she could change her view of him so suddenly. Furthermore, she had no intention of starting a lasting relationship with anyone, let alone a fellow officer. While she would be okay with their involvement remaining purely physical, she was certain that even then, things would end up complicating and making their professional lives difficult. In short, the best solution seemed to be to forget everything and move on as if nothing had happened. Yet, logic didn’t always align with the deep desires of the heart.
Instead of answering the man’s question, Detective Oh placed the pancakes on a flat plate and handed them to him. “Breakfast is ready,” she said, then passed by him and took a seat on one of the stools positioned near the kitchen island.
For a moment, Jinhwan was taken aback; he had expected anything but for Detective Oh to so blatantly avoid the topic. However, he saw the silver lining: if she didn’t address it, it meant there was still a chance he could win her heart.
They sat down at the table without bringing up the topic again. They ate Korean pancakes and sipped bottled green tea. It was Detective Oh who eventually broke the strange silence, saying:
“If you had just dropped me off at home yesterday and left, I would have had trouble getting back to work today.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just realized I left my car in the station parking lot since we took yours to the bar.”
“Good point. After work, drive home and park it in the garage, then I’ll pick you up and we’ll come back here.”
“Do you think it’s necessary for me to stay here so long?”
“It’s cheaper than staying at a hotel and safer than being at your place.”
Detective Oh had no objection to that.
After breakfast, she went to the bathroom to get ready for the day. It seemed incredible to her to return to work after what had happened the night before. The two realities seemed to belong to parallel universes, so it was absurd that they should coincide.
She placed her hands on the edge of the sink and looked up at her reflection in the mirror. Her raven hair fell straight down her face, and her serious expression was unmistakable. She was still herself, yet something was changing.
Comments (0)
See all