The black van passed by SolHi, in a hurry, forcing her to jump aside. Then, furious, SolHi yelled behind the van: „Ia, idiot, watch where you’re going!” and then she glanced at the ice cream from her hand which seemed to be in one piece. „At least this pleasure that idiot didn’t take from me because my nerves definitely are gone. And for that idiot from home too. Idiot! First, learn how to drive! Here’s not a race track”

SolHi was coming back home from shopping: in one hand she had the grocery bag, and in the other one - the ice cream. Suddenly, she stopped and looked back, toward the place from where the van had come. „Wait a minute! Why did that car come from that direction? That place is a dead-end! What the hell did they do there? Wha, don’t tell me that they again…”

She wanted to converge toward that dead-end, but DooSan held the hood of the hoodie and forced her to stop. „Where are you going?”

SolHi pierced him with her glance. „To Hell! Didn’t I mention this already?”

„I thought you were already back!” DooSan said ironically. „Not for nothing, but this is already your way home.”

SolHi got out from his „trap” and stared furiously at him. „Since when is this your business? I’m coming or I’m going to hell, it’s only my business and It’s also my business to investigate if something seems suspicious to me, and that van, which just passed by, it’s damn suspicious…”

„Superman?”

„What?”

„I mean, are you Superman? Or maybe, Batman? How the hell to investigate something, in a place forgotten by the world, alone?! Do you have a death wish or what?”

„And … since when should I investigate something being followed by someone? Ia, Han DooSan, I am a detective…”

„Right and a detective first call reinforcements and he is not risking his life. More than this, you aren’t on duty today and this area is not in your jurisdiction. If there really happened something, the police will investigate what…”

„As if I care!” SolHi mumbled and gave him the grocery bag. „Just try to eat everything till I’m back and I assure you’ll see the Hell today” and she headed toward the street from where the van had come.

„Damn woman! When she’ll learn from past experience?!” DooSan mumbled and followed her, not that eager.

Getting at the corner of the street, SolHi took out of her pocket a small lantern and illuminated the place: there wasn’t anything suspicious and there also wasn’t any trash seen, as she suspected at first: „and yet, I’m sure that they came from here.” She turned to look around, but she got scared, seeing DooSan behind her back, grinning, while she was illuminating his face.

„I told you that there’s nothing here. You never believe anything from what I say.”

„Is it because half of what you say is nonsense?! And stop sneaking around, you, ghost! One day I’ll die because of a heart attack.”

„It will be a good idea. Maybe this way you’ll stop looking for troubles,” DooSan mumbled calmly and bit from her ice cream. His move made her angry. „Sorry, I’ve been craving and … you should have bought one for me too. You, stingy woman!”

SolHi pushed the ice cream toward his face, but she couldn’t touch DooSan, because he took it from her hand and took another bite. She hissed through the teeth: „Do I look like a husband or what?”

„Like a husband? Why so? Do only the husbands buy ice cream or what?”

„No. I didn't have this in mind, but the fact that you are complaining all the time … worse than a wife and from what I remember, the woman here I am. Or, maybe I was wrong?”

„Ia! Don’t push me, or … not for nothing, but since we live now together, I might have the chance to show you who's the man between us two.”

SolHi took a few steps toward him, making him glance with curiosity at her. „What are you up to?”

„Nothing special. I just wanted to check …this man!”

„Do you have any doubts about it?”

„Absolutely. And … try, if you dare, to „prove” your manhood and I swear I leave you … eunuch” and she stretched her hand toward him so fast that forced DooSan to take a step back. He stopped, noticing her hand inside the bakery bag, looking for something, and SolHi’s eyes fixed on him. When she got out of the bag another ice cream, he whispered: „This was … what you were looking for!”

„Don’t tell me … Did you think about something else?!” and shaking her head in reproach, she turned his back to him and moved away.

„No, I just … and … Ia, SolHi, that’s my favorite. Fruity! Don’t…”

„You should have thought about this early. Before „swallowing” my favorite one - chocolate. And stop complaining like a child, prosecutor Han. Or, wait! It would be a good idea to shoot this and later to…” DooSan’s hand suddenly covered her mouth, after his arm had been put on her shoulders, gently, and he forced her to follow him because he felt that something not that good happened that night, in that dead-end, and he for sure wouldn’t have left SolHi alone on the street or for sure she would have been able to look for other troubles. She was very good at this.

***

SolHi stares at a blind spot. In her left hand, she’s holding the metal chopsticks, used for eating. Then, she mumbled as if she was thinking loudly: „and still, I’m sure that I heard a scream there.”

„Scream? What kind of scream?” DooSan asked. He was sitting in front of her while both have a late dinner.

„Not that long ago. In the street. I’m sure that someone was calling for help. A few moments before that van passed by.”

„And … wasn’t it just a hallucination? Maybe … you said that you’ve been in hell. There are a lot of souls in pain there… you know, screaming all the time on their way to the big cauldron on which water is boiled and a big fire under it and…” the fact that SolHi slammed the chopsticks on the table made him avoid her furious glance. „Or maybe not?!”

„Are you saying now that I see ghosts?”

„Absolutely … no. It just seems to me that you are exaggerating with your sixth sense, police dog.”

„Really? And … why do you think so?”

„Because … let’s think carefully about this! You checked that place, but there wasn’t anything suspect there. Then, the van: have you heard someone screaming for help when the van passed by?”

„No. And… I’m sure about this.”

„Then… I’m right. That van’s driver can be only an idiot, thinking that Seoul City’s streets are a good racetrack, and … if you feel better, then I’ll ask someone to check if today happened something strange around or lately. Maybe this way you’ll sleep well at night.”

„Not that I would have stayed awake, all night long, but … I won’t say no to this proposal.”

„You, see?! Eventually, there’s a great chance to have misunderstood everything and…”

„Here you’re right,” and her words took him by surprise. „That I was mistaken. It happened once, but damn I regret it.”

„Really? And … when was that?” and DooSan fixed his glance on hers, waiting for a piece of bomb news.

„When I met you. I thought that you are a real man, but I never imagined that you love to live at someone’s expense. Alfonse! Weird, but real!”

DooSan slammed the spoon on the table. SolHi instead just yawned. „Are you looking to have a fight with me right now?”

„Not at all. I just … mentioned facts and … I’m a detective, remember? I prefer to call things by their real names, to make logical conclusions and I’m damn good at this. And … you, wash the dishes! I cooked!” and she entered the bathroom, leaving DooSan staring in amazement behind her.

„This woman is even more dangerous than a beast. Ia, don’t worry, SolHi - you won’t find it easy to live with me. Especially…” and his eyes focused on the pillow. He scratched his nose, looked around, and then approached the bed, staring at the pillow. „Nea, she won’t walk that far and to use the pillow for chasing me away from here or to try to asphyxiate me to get revenge on what happened 7-year-ago, in Intensive Care. It’s too complicated.”

Then, his glance was caught by SolHi’s phone, left on the dressing table - „tempting,” he mumbled and listened carefully to what was happening in the bathroom. The water was still pouring, so he „dared” to take the phone, but he found it blocked and only her fingerprint could unblock it. „Yet, you are hiding something from me, Ian SolHi! But, don’t worry! I have my methods for this!”

He left the phone in its place, took the second pillow with him, and when SolHi exited the bathroom, he was already „sleeping.” SolHi looked at the dishes left dirty in the sink. „So, you decided that you have a servant here, prosecutor Han! Don’t worry! I’ll teach you tomorrow how things work in this house!”

DooSan lurked at her with half-opened eyes and saw her combing her wet hair, after drying it a little bit with a towel. Then, she threw the towel in the laundry hamper, left it next to the bathroom door, turned off the light, and entered the bed. But she couldn't be asleep a long time after this and it was something that made DooSan nervous because he was too eager to find out what she was hiding from him.

Only after about two hours, SolHi had finally fallen asleep. DooSan slowly sighed and stealthily got out of the sofa and approached the bed. First, he made sure that SolHi won’t catch him lurking in her stuff. Then, he bent a little bit over her, took her hand into his, and unblocked the mobile phone. But, when to put her hand on her chest, as SolHi used to sleep, she suddenly moved and DooSan was forced to lay on the floor, as per order. SolHi instead turned her back to the place where he was hiding.

„Huh, that was a close one!” DooSan mumbled. „Only a few hours with her and I’m already sweating like hell.” He turned on the phone and checked it, but he found nothing: only photos of SolHi and Mina together and only one photo of SolHi alone, wearing a white dress. „That’s the dress she was wearing that night!” DooSan thought. „It looks like if she was going to have a date. But, with whom?!”

He looked for an application or something, but also found nothing. Not even an account of social media. DooSan turned his head toward SolHi and watched her furious: „are you a ghost? How the hell to live without social media?! Ah, Ian SolHi! I thought you are a real bomb, online, but … What a disappointment!”

DooSan shook his head in reproach, but when to put the phone on the desk he noticed SolHi’s boots, carefully left next to the bed. For a moment, DooSan imagined SolHi asphyxiating him with the laces and not being heard hiccupping, he covered his mouth with both palms, then took off the laces, the pillow under SolHi’s head and the gun from off the drawer and fell asleep, holding it.

***

The next morning, after finishing to put on her clothes, SolHi looked for the boots and noticed that they are without laces. „And this? I’m sure that the laces were put on last night.” Confused, she looked around and finally noticed that she slept without a pillow. When she looked at the sofa, she noticed the two pillows put one on the other and a white lace sneaking under the pillow. „So, he made sure that he wakes up in the morning. What he didn’t know was that…” SolHi smiled, but when she checked the drawer, she found no gun there and slapped her forehead, shaking her head. „I’m the new Jack the Ripper.”

She approached the sofa, took the laces under the pillow, and there she found the gun too. Then, she threw one of the pillows on the bed, made the bed, sat down on it, and started to put again the laces on the boots, mumbling all the time: „if he cares that much about his life, what the hell is he doing in my house? Huh, if I wanted you dead, I would have killed you on that lavender field, idiot! On the same lavender field where I’ve kissed you the first time and through lavender, they would have found you embalmed and ready to put you on a sarcophagus. You, idiot that…”

She suddenly stood up, hearing the shower turned off. Holding one boot in her hand she went toward the bathroom’s door. „Ia, Han DooSan, do you really think that I’m Jack…” she kept silent and hiccupped, seeing DooSan exiting the bathroom: shirtless, with water slowly running on his well-made body, covered only with a towel in the lower part, and, using another towel to dry his hair. SolHi turned his back to him, as per order.

„You are still here?” he asked, amazed. „I thought you left. It seemed to me that I heard the slammed door. Well, I was wrong. So, we can go to work together then.” When he wanted to approach the closet and to look for his clothes, SolHi suddenly turned toward him and forced him to stop, threatening him with the boot. „What?”

„Your …job? I mean the taken-off laces.”

„Aaa. This. Well, let’s say it was just precautions.”

„And… couldn't you think about this before to show up in my house? That I can end with your life while sleeping?”

„No. I had something else in mind.”

„Like? To walk like this … naked in the house of a single and unmarried woman? Who actually has a soul too, damn…” and, she kept silent, realizing that she talked too much.

DooSan smiled and took a step toward her. SolHi took one back, but she suddenly felt the wall behind her and she saw herself forced to stop and to avoid his piercing glance because DooSan was bending slowly over her and he was looking very appetizing. „What?” she finally stammered.

„You should have thought about this before. I learned it from you … to hang around … naked” and SolHi suddenly stared at him. „Yes, yes, I’m talking about you and about our first meeting at the showers, inside of the police building. Let’s say that you looked exactly how I look right now. Oh, wait, you hadn’t a towel on you then.”

„Ia, you…” she hiccupped once again when DooSan hold her in his arms, sticking her of his wet and naked chest. „You … have you lost your mind?”

„No. I just remind you about what I said last night.”

„What you said? About what?” SolHi stammered and looked elsewhere.

„To show you that I’m a real man and not a… I think we have some free time for demonstrations too.” He bent over SolHi, intending to kiss her. She closed her eyes, groping on his naked body to push him away from her, but, by accident, when she intended to pass by, her hand grabbed the towel and left him as he had been born: naked. SolHi lost balance and fell on all four when she slid on the wet floor.

At first, she didn’t understand what she did, so she rose her glance and looked toward DooSan… her eyes wide-opened, seeing the rest of DooSan’s body. In her ears was heard the sound of the elephant whistling from his trumpet, her eyes wide-opened even more than at the beginning, then she closed them and started to grope after the boot that fell on the floor when DooSan hugged her. Finding it, she crawled on all four toward the bed, groped after the second boot, took the lace from off the bed, and jerked out of the house.

All these happened so suddenly, that DooSan hadn’t time even to understand what happened: he stood frozen, ashamed, and dump because it was a too big shame for his brain to understand it right away. Then, he slowly bent, took the towel from off the floor, wrapped it around his body, and mumbled: „this is the end. How the hell to see her again?”

He ran toward the sofa and threw himself on it, covered only with the towel and moving like if he was a child having a hysteria crisis. „Tonight, she kills me for sure! For idiot! How the hell to get out of the bathroom necked, Han DooSan? You are a dead man, man! Absolutely dead!”

Suddenly he stood in a sitting position, uncovering his upper body, and in his eyes, a shining light was seen. „Wait a minute! I did nothing! She let me naked. Yes, she …did it, and … she recognized that she had been impressed. Well, not everybody has a body as I have, but … she deserved it. What?! Last night she said that I’m not a man, but an Alfonse, and now ran as if chased away by the devil only seeing me… naked?! She definitely deserved it! I hope she won’t ever call me Alfonse after this. Well, not that all Alfonse aren’t well-looking, but … there are those who only pretend to be” and he shook the shirt in front of him as if trying to chase away the bad thoughts that were threatening to take over him.

After dressing himself and intending to exit the house, he saw SolHi’s mobile phone, the wallet, and the gun left on the dressing table. „Mda, now I understand that she had been really impressed!” he said, satisfied, and, taking her stuff with him, he left the apartment.

***

SolHi is at the bus station, sitting on a chair, wearing only a boot, while she’s putting the lace on the second one. She suddenly held her hair, with both hands, screaming like a dement, and the men around looked at her as if they saw the devil.

„I got burned! I definitely got burned! Who the hell told me to grab that towel?! Now for sure, he’ll have fun with me for the rest of his life. You are an idiot, Ian SolHi! A real idiot!” and she started to quickly move in place while the others were forcing themselves not to laugh. Seeing the bus coming, she stood up, as if nothing happened, put on the second shoe, only with half lace put on, and she got on the bus, pretending to be very calm. Inside the bus: surprise! Pay if you have with what. „Today definitely isn’t my day!” she mumbled and slowly breathed in.

The bus driver stared unsatisfied at her, seeing that she was keeping the line in place: „Miss, will you pay or…?”

SolHi slowly turned toward him and growled: „No, I better get out! Mmm, I’m getting out! No need for a fuss!” and, turning her back to the driver, she got out of the bus, as if nothing happened. However, she saw the other passengers smiling and gossiping about her.

When the bus moved away, SolHi sat down on the chair and again breathed in - there’s nobody around there. „Now, Ian SolHi, it’ll be a good idea to start learning to fly. Otherwise, you won’t get ever at work. Or maybe: had he left the apartment already?! I don’t think so. And… ah…” she again bent on her lap and hold her hair, squeezing it.

DooSan, whose car was stopped not that far from the bus station, saw, from inside the car, the „show” she gave before getting inside the bus and after getting out, because DooSan waited for her, even if he saw her entering the bus, but he knew that she hasn’t money to pay the ride, so she’ll get out soon. And he hadn't to wait long for seeing her again and for the second part of her show. „Genius!” DooSan mumbled. „With such a success, it’ll start to like this „revenge.”

He pressed the klaxon, trying to make her watch him. SolHi glanced at him, but right away stood up and took a few steps to go. She stopped, listening DooSan calling her name, this time being out of the car. „Ia, Ian SolHi, will you assume the responsibility for what happened early or…”

„Just keep your mouth shut, idiot!” SolHi growled, not knowing what to do: to leave or to approach him.

„If I get a fee because of you, I swear I’ll double your debt,” and this for sure worked because SolHi got in the car in seconds and till DooSan got in too she managed already to put on the security belt and to stare outside.

DooSan forced himself not to burst into laughter. Then, seeing SolHi avoiding his glance and staring at a blind spot outside, he took her stuff left on the glove compartment and threw them on her lap. SolHi decided not to react at all. However, she stared at him, when DooSan noticed the half put-on lace and burst to laugh.

„You … stop it!” SolHi hissed through the teeth.

„I’ll stop it! I’ll stop it, but you first finish to intertwine that lace, or others will think that you had a crazy night and it was so good that you didn’t even notice the lace. And … I don’t want others to think that I had something to do with your night.”

He turned on the engine and pressed the gas pedal. SolHi mumbled something unpleasant about him, but she took off the shoe and finished intertwining the lace.

***

In the parking lot, SolHi got out of the car, stealthily, and, then, she tried to sneak toward the entrance. She had been forced to stop when DooSan grabbed the hood and showed her not to move.

„What this time?” she murmured sullenly.

DooSan only shook his head in reproach. „A real kid!” he mumbled and bent to tie the lace, which SolHi tied wrong. SolHi tried to move back, but DooSan grabbed her leg, hissing through the teeth. „Don’t move!”

„What are you doing? Do you want everybody to know about us?” SolHi whistled the words. „I’m not that eager that others to find out that I’m living with my „boss.”

DooSan finished tying the lace, stood up, and fixed his glance on SolHi’s. „And do you think that somebody cares about us? Look! This parking lot is even emptier than Sahara!”

„Aha, and last time when „nobody cared about us” I’ve been a national star. A traitor of Nation and Country, who deceived the little and innocent brother of my victim” and her eyes were spitting fire all around. „You probably don’t know how does it feel, but those eggs, that hit my head, hurt like hell. If you don’t believe me, you should give it a try: to become a national enemy and you’ll definitely find out this.”

She intended to pass by DooSan, but he held her hand, and, watching her calmly, he said: „Cute!”

SolHi stared at him. „Cute?! What the hell…?”

„I’m talking about your reaction. And … you are the cute one now, SolHi. You should see your face now: it’s really cute and those fire-breathing eyes, are … wow. But, don’t worry! While your „Oppa” is here, nobody will hurt you again” and he moved away from her, sticking his hands in his pockets.

„Huh, Oppa?! Yeah, right! I don’t even remember when I found this „Oppa”. He’s damn crazy, for sure!” and, shaking her hand in reproach, she followed him.

None of them saw Kan and Yu hiding behind a car. They didn't know either why did they hide, but they hid, seeing DooSan’s car entering the parking lot and SolHi on the passenger's chair, by DooSan’s side.

Kan scratched the back of his head. „Are those two together now?”

„It seems so. That „I’m living with my boss” seemed enough clear to me,” Yu said ironically and headed toward the front door. „Now I understand why he was mad with SuJin.”

Kan had one of his beloved hysteria crises, but seeing that nobody is around to see his „show-ul” he gave up on the idea and followed Yu.