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The case was finally over; the results were released to the world but at what cost? Joo Hyun-Gi, Cha Hong Joo and the rest were sentenced to years in jail but the law wasn’t so lenient to let go of Choi Kang Woo either.
Choi Kang Woo smiled at them, “I’ll be fine, kids. Mad Dog will be fine too. It’s only a year.”
Everyone stared and said nothing, until Cheetah-ssi finally nodded. “We’ll be waiting for you, hyung-nim.”
Everyone followed suit, leaving some good byes before he was taken away. Min Joon didn’t know what to say, but he gave a nod, and that was all Kang Woo needed as he smiled at everyone in return.
——-
That night, everyone sat quietly in the office. After a few minutes of silence, Soon-jung sighed loudly, “Hey, hyung-nim said Mad Dog will be fine but look at us right now.”
Noo Ri frowned, “But what are we supposed to do now?”
“Same as what we always did, investigate insurance fraud cases. We mad dogs aren’t going to stop hunting, right?”
“But-“
“Nope! We’ll figure things out like we always do. Right now, we eat. Who’s up for dinner?”
Jang Ha Ri smiled, “Chicken and beer?”
Noo Ri grinned,” Yes! I’ll call delivery. Cheetah-ssi, help me choose which store and flavors.” He looked at Min Joon and asked, “Hyung, do you want sweet or spicy today?”
Min Joon smiled,” Up to you guys. I’ll go shower and clean up the place a bit.”
Cheetah asked, “Clean up the place?”
Min Joon smirked. “Were you not planning on breaking in like usual? Might as well be prepared.”
Cheetah smirked back. “No complaints then.”
Min Joon nodded, “Give me ten minutes.” As he walked out, his smirk disappeared, leaving a solemn expression, but Ha Ri was the only one who noticed.
As Noo-ri and Soon-jung were scrolling through some online store menus, Ha Ri told them, “Hey, I’m going to help him clean. You guys come up in a bit.”
Soon-jung smirked,” Oh? Sunbae Jang is going to help her boyfr- ack!”
Noo Ri elbowed him, before smiling at Ha Ri, “Take your time! We’ll be up when we finish ordering.” He glared at Soon-jung and shushed him, before gesturing back to the screen.
Jang Ha Ri smirked before going up after Min Joon. By now, the team all knew his code no matter how many times he changed it, so she easily walked in.
And as she predicted, Min Joon was sitting on the couch with a blank stare. He seemed to be too deep in his thoughts to notice that she walked in, so Ha Ri crossed her arms and said, “Dr.Kim wouldn’t have anything to clean. Couldn’t come up with a better lie?”
Min Joon blinked, snapping out of his daze before smirking at her, “Ha Ri-ssi couldn’t wait to be alone with me?”
Ha Ri rolled her eyes and uncrossed her arms, walking up to him. She stood in front of him, “What’s wrong?”
He looked at her and opened his mouth, but then quickly closed it and looked away. “Just tired. The case is over, things don’t feel real yet.” He smiled sadly, “Maybe Hyung can rest better knowing his name is cleared.”
Ha Ri asked,”But you’re not resting easy because Team Leader is serving a sentence. You feel like it’s your fault?”
Min Joon blinked up in surprise, and Ha Ri smiled and sat next to him,”Sometimes you’re easy to read.”
Min Joon smirked,”Is it because Ha Ri-ssi is always looking at me?”
Ha Ri huffed but shot back,”Yeah, as much as you look at me.”
Min Joon looked taken aback. Usually she’d fall to his provoking and snap back at him, either leading to more banter between them or a change in subject, but this time her retort left him speechless, and there was silence once again.
Ha Ri sighed, “Kim Min Joon-ssi, it’s not your fault and you know it. Team Leader chose to end it this way, and he’ll soon be back with us in a year. Until then, we can visit him, and patiently wait for him. By continuing our duties at Mad Dog, Team Leader won’t have to be anxious in these next 12 months.”
“But he had to do it alone.”
“Again, that’s his decision. I think he’s thankful for finally knowing the truth. We’re all thankful that we did this together.”
Min Joon didn’t reply, and Ha Ri internally sighed. “Why are men so stubborn,” she muttered. She stood up and took a few steps in front of him, now standing between his legs. He looked at her, bewildered, “Ha Ri-ssi, what are you-“
He was cut off as she gently held his head against her stomach, hugging him. “One minute. We’re not going to say anything for one minute.”
She saw his shoulders slightly tremble before he eventually relaxed, leaning into her embrace. She smoothed some of her fingers into his hair, as her other hand drew circles into his shoulders. Before long, a minute has passed, but they stayed in that position for a few more.
Min Joon slowly leaned back and looked up at her, “Thank you, Ha Ri-ssi.”
She smiled in response, making a move to step away. But then, she noticed that somewhere within the embrace he had moved his hands near her lower back, somewhat trapping her.
He scooted back and tugged her forward so now she was somewhat kneeling on the couch. He asked,”Did Ha Ri-ssi shower today?”
She huffed. Not this again. She tried to back away again but his hands gripped her hips, not allowing her to escape.
She glared,” Kim Min-“ but she cut off when she saw how serious his gaze was. As they continuing staring at each other, she didn’t even realize when they both slowly started learning forward. Before their lips met, she whispered, “Are we-“ He gently interrupted her, “One minute, like before, okay?” and then his lips finally met hers.
The first kiss was more chaste than expected, a gentle peck to test her reaction. When they broke away to stare at each other again, this time she leaned in to initiate the second kiss.
Needless to say, it was much different than the first one. It was as if all the tension between them was released. Though they just started dating, it was never the time or place to pursue their relationship. It was always some banter or subtle flirting, though the team didn’t think so.
This kiss made up for it; Ha Ri wasn’t used to initiating sincere romantic actions. Everything was usually an act to play the men that had information the team needed. So, when she didn’t feel a reaction from Min Joon, she made to pull away, but that was when he finally responded. He tilted his head and kissed her back. It felt a bit needy and desperate, stripping away some of the vulnerabilities between them. His lips were still moving a bit hesitantly against hers, so she gently tugged his hair and kissed him a bit harder. She felt his hands dig into her hips in response, and before the minute was up, (however much time passed, she didn’t actually know) she broke away. Her gasps for air were obvious, but she was pleased to see he was doing the same. They leaned in again but just before their lips met-
“Hey, the chicken’s going to be here in a few minutes. Do you need some..” Cheetah abruptly cut off, just as Ha Ri shoved herself off of Min Joon.
Noo Ri peeked over his shoulder. “Um, did we interrupt something?”
Ha Ri turned around to hide her flushed face but wisely chose to say nothing. Min Joon cleared his throat and forced a smirk, “I just told Ha Ri-ssi that she’s not very clean and she was about to punch me.” He quickly stood up, “The chicken will be here soon, right? There’s beer in the fridge. I’m going to take the shower that Ha Ri stopped me from taking.” Then he walked away, smirking at a shocked and slightly betrayed looking Ha Ri.
When she heard the door close, she slowly and awkwardly turned around to meet Pentium and Cheetah’s teasing faces.
She angrily thought to herself,”Next time, Kim Min Joon can get that punch he so desperately sounded like he wanted to have.”
A minute right now couldn’t pass any faster.