Sarang nodded with a distracted smile. “Books all day. Books, books, bookmarks,customers.” It felt silly to talk about the work, despite the fact it was not a big fat lie. It was a small, thin lie, but this did not make her feel any better. It wasn’t ethical concerns she had, but rather an alien feeling she had while talking about the whole thing. It was almost like she was talking about another person, and so she worried over the possibility of not sounding convincing enough, something which she had no issues with in the past. But then again, you are talking about a different person, a voice in her mind echoed, making her pause for a moment before she could return to the conversation.
“I don’t do much of martial arts, but I took some self-defence classes, back in the days. It’s useful to know. And a friend dragged me to it,” a slow chuckle escaped her as she made sure to balance herself whilst not pressing herself inappropriately much against the man. She did not want to make either of them feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, but for what was worth, physical contact was much more difficult for her whose brain kept trying to calculate the amount of germs she shared with each person she came into closer contact with.
“Heegun,” she tested his name in a more informal tone for the first time, giving him a nod then as she started to walk, in the direction where she had left her car, continuously reminding herself to mind the supposedly injured ankle. “What stuff do you write? Are you planning to retire soon, then use all the knowledge of your cases to turn yourself into a famous crime thriller novelist? Because that sounds exciting,” she half-teased the man as they walked together. “Well…I don’t do a lot either. Jogging, going to cafes to read, working. I’m not much of a night club person. I don’t like it at all, as a matter of fact. I keep things quiet.” Which was true, minus the work. At least she could be truthful about certain aspects, which made the assignment significantly easier.
“But, um…I did have one plan. Heegun-ssi…Heegun,” she corrected herself. “There’s, uh…you see, every month, my workplace has reading nights. We spend about an hour and a half reading certain literature to those who come. Sometimes it’s kids stuff, sometimes it’s romance. We have a ghost story reading tonight at 7:30. You’ve, uh…You’ve been so much help with my injury and uh…Oh, this sounds silly!” While attempting to spill it out, Sarang legitimately blushed, looking away. “If you’re not awfully busy, I would like to invite you to come. If you’re not busy of course! I’m not trying to be weird and impose in your schedule,” an embarrassed smile adorned her lips as she shyly sneaked a glance up at the captain.
The captain listened to her, quietly, while facing forward, careful to not trip and hurt her more. He couldn’t imagine to work in that kind of work, as being a police officer had been his dream from the very beginning. This was his place, his fate. “Yes, definitely.” Heegun replied with a nod and a stoic expression, trying to push the warmth of their body contact to the back of his mind. This didn’t meant a thing, she was just someone who needed help and Heegun was just the random stranger who helped her. His habit to easily develop a crush on women who where slightly more friendly than the average had always brought trouble upon him.
“Ah, just stuff that’s on my mind. And sometimes poems or lyrical texts, nothing special though.” The male shrugged it off, as soon as he had formed it in words, he somehow felt awefully embarrassed, he was a man of duty after all. Weakness should never be shown. Did being human meant to be weak?
A chuckle left his lips, as he gently looked to his side, glancing down at the beauty leaning on his chest. “Don’t give me ideas like that. I might do that in like forty years.” Of course there was no way he would be able to work until the glory age of seventy. And openly said, in a world like this he couldn’t be too sure to survive that long. It was refreshing to talk about daily stuff though, since it eased his heavy heart, broke through the shell of determination. “Leading a quiet, peaceful life must be nice... ” The male mumbled rather to himself, lost in thoughts, staring into the void.
“Ghost stories?” His voice slipped, as well as his serious facial expression, and Heegun halted for a second, staring at her. He was a loyal SPD member, but he still believed in evil ghosts and spirits, bad karma and demons who would haunt the living. “Thank you for inviting me, but... “ His words staggered, and he didn’t know how to express himself, when he watched her blushing lightly at her bold invitation. “Ah, I mean... I’ll come. Please take care of me.” There was no way to reject a lady like her.