Archive of Our Own ^beta

As usual, after bathing Kang Woo sat on his bed with a notebook on his lap. This afternoon he made a pact with Senior Detective Na, one month to catch the mastermind from the police killings, and if he didn’t succeed, he would go to jail without much protest.

Kang Woo sighed, lying down on the bed. He made the agreement without thinking because Senior Detective Na threatened to disband the Golden Time Team. Earlier he also saw Kwon Joo’s worried expression, and without thinking he immediately volunteered as the “person in charge”.

Now he only has one month. If he fails, he will definitely go to jail. Although a little depressed, he knew he was not alone. He has a team now. The team that will help and support him wholeheartedly.

Kang Woo rolled over, laid sideways with his back against the wall. And most importantly, he reminded himself, he had Kang Kwon Joo.

Kang Woo’s cell phone vibrated on his bedside table. He closed the open book on the bed, placed it in the desk drawer, and reached for his cell phone. Message from Kang Centerjang.

In all his life, Kang Woo has never accepted anyone’s invitation to eat together. Even with his first partner he never ate together. He was just waiting for his partner to eat in the car while they were on a snooping assignment. Other than that, never. In fact, when he looked back, no one had ever asked him to eat out.

Before he was completely realized, Kang Woo found himself outside the apartment, standing in front of the door to lock it. He walked down the stairs to the lobby looking at his own outfit. He was wearing a grey t-shirt, black baggy jacket, black trousers, and sneakers.

Would the clothes he was currently wearing be considered a proper appearance to accept an invitation to eat out? Kang Woo got an answer as he arrived in front of the apartment.

Kwon Joo smiled as Kang Woo emerged from the open glass door and stood next to her. From her expression, Kang Woo knew Kwon Joo didn’t mind his appearance.

Kwon Joo drives her car with Kang Woo to a restaurant. Arriving at the destination Kwon Joo parked the car, then got out of the car following Kang Woo.

The restaurant was busy. Kang Woo enters the restaurant first, looking around for an empty table, when he realizes that Kwon Joo is not behind him. Kwon Joo is still at the door, frowning while holding her head, making Kang Woo frown too.

“Kang Center.”

Kwon Joo immediately lifted her head. She smiled a little. “I don’t know why this place is so crowded today. Two days ago I came here with the team and the place is very quiet. That’s why I brought you—“

Without waiting Kwon Joo to finish her sentence, Kang Woo walked over to her, grabbed the sleeve of Kwon Joo’s jacket, and half dragged her back to the car. “Give me the key.”

“Let me drive—“

Kang Woo stares at Kwon Joo coldly, so the girl finally complies and gives him her car keys. Kang Woo opened the car door next to the driver, telling Kwon Joo to get on with his head gesture.

“Get in,” Kang Woo ordered coldly, leaving the door open as he walked around the car and sat behind the wheel. He only started the engine after Kwon Joo complied and sat down next to him.

Kwon Joo mumbles, while searching for the next restaurant they can go to using her cell phone. She didn’t realize Kang Woo was driving her car fast and they were back at the starting point. Kang Woo’s apartment.

Kang Woo unbuckled his seat belt, typed something on his cell phone, then got out of the car. Before he closed the door, he looked at Kwon Joo who seemed to have just realized that they had arrived at their “destination.”

“Get out and follow me,” Kang Woo ordered, then without waiting for an answer he closed the door.

Kwon Joo got out of the car with a slightly confused face, but when Kang Woo threw the car keys at her, she caught it deftly. She puts her car keys in her jacket pocket, then she notices Kang Woo has already walked into the apartment lobby, so Kwon Joo follows him.

Kang Woo left his apartment door open. Kwon Joo knew it was Kang Woo’s way of letting her in, but she still felt a little awkward.

“Can you stop standing in front of the door?” Kang Woo shouted from inside the apartment, sighing loudly as if to make sure Kwon Joo could hear him. “Hurry in.”

Kwon Joo complied. She stepped into Kang Woo’s apartment, closing the door behind her gently as she looked around the room. There are only the basic human necessities for life; clothes in a slightly open wardrobe, bed, air conditioning, bathroom.

Then Kwon Joo realized. How about food? Kwon Joo hasn’t checked Kang Woo’s fridge. Maybe the man only had water bottles with no food. What are they here for? Doesn’t she want to take Kang Woo out for dinner?

“Do Timjang-nim,” Kwon Joo stepped up to Kang Woo who was standing in the kitchen in front of the sink, washing his hands. She realized Kang Woo had taken off his jacket. “Do you have any food—"

There was a loud knock outside the apartment door. Kang Woo looked at Kwon Joo without expression. Kwon Joo looked back at him for a moment, then she understood.

Kwon Joo stepped out of the hallway by sitting on the dining chair. She watched Kang Woo walk past her, then she heard the sound of the door opening and closing. Kang Woo appeared again with a large plastic bag in his hand. He had ordered food from the family restaurant near the apartment.

Silently Kang Woo sat across from Kwon Joo at the dining table, taking out two bowls of jjajangmyeon. He placed one bowl in front of Kwon Joo, and another in front of him. He handed the chopsticks to Kwon Joo without speaking, so Kwon Joo thanked him silently as well. She just accepted by nodding her head.

Kang Woo put his elbows on the table, opened the chopsticks with an expressionless face. But then he gasped in surprise.

Kwon Joo uses her right index finger to trace the wound on Kang Woo’s forearm, carefully observing the scratch. She even slightly pressed the side of the wound while watching Kang Woo’s expression. Kang Woo didn’t have a pained expression on his face, so Kwon Joo just looked at him with a smile.

“It doesn’t look deep, but before going to bed you should clean it one more time with an antiseptic.” Kwon Joo pulled her hand away from Kang Woo’s forearm. “I brought it for you.”

Kwon Joo put her hand in her jacket pocket, then took out a bottle of antiseptic and placed it in front of Kang Woo. After that Kwon Joo starts stirring the noodles without looking at Kang Woo.

Kang Woo actually wanted to thank her, but since Kwon Joo wasn’t looking at him anymore, he felt awkward and chose to focus on his noodles. Besides, he usually doesn’t even say thank you.

For a few minutes they ate in silence, only the sound of noodle sauce and their chewing was heard by Kang Woo, but it seemed different for Kwon Joo. Kang Woo was about to chop noodles again when he lifted his head and noticed Kwon Joo’s cheeks were a little red. Immediately he thought, did he order the wrong type of jjajangmyeon? Did he order the spicy one?

“Why?” Kang woo asked expressionlessly, when in fact he was curious about the cause of Kwon Joo’s rosy cheeks. And he couldn’t deny, Kwon Joo’s rosy cheeks made the girl even cuter. Of course he didn’t say that out loud.

Kwon Joo put her chopsticks on the bowl while mumbling. She lowered her head, hands covering her ears. “Do Timjang-nim, you didn’t hear anything?”

“What?” Kang Woo furrowed his eyebrows, put his chopsticks on top of his bowl. He looked at Kwon Joo with a quizzical look.

Slightly hesitant to answer, Kwon Joo finally whispered with a face even redder than before. “Are next door apartment residents newlyweds?”

And now Kang Woo’s ears felt hot. He was sure his ears must be as red as Kwon Joo’s cheeks. After clearing his throat, he replied in the calmest voice possible, “That’s right. I just met them two days ago. They just got married.”

Kwon Joo mumbled a light “oh”, but her hands were still covering her ears. Her expression started to get a little uncomfortable so Kang Woo gave a suggestion without a second thought.

“Eat on the bed.”

Kwon Joo’s brown eyes widen in disbelief, but she tries to sound calm. “Bed?”

Kang Woo just realized how disrespectful his advice sounded. He stammered a little trying to clear up this misunderstanding. “The farthest corner from the apartment next door. On the bed.”

Now Kwon Joo understands what he meant. She smiled a little. “What about you?”

Without answering Kang Woo grabbed Kwon Joo’s bowl and chopsticks with his right hand and his own bowl and chopsticks with his left, then walked into the main room of his apartment. He put Kwon Joo’s bowl on the table next to the bed, while he put his own bowl on the floor. Kang Woo casually sat on the floor, facing the bed then started eating.

Kwon Joo rushes after Kang Woo. She looked for a position to sit on the floor when Kang Woo shook his head. Kang Woo pointed to the bed.

“Sit in the corner over there.”

“But you’re sitting on the floor—“

“I sit on the floor, you sit there,” Kang Woo ordered, without looking at Kwon Joo. He put a lot of noodles in his mouth so that Kwon Joo wouldn’t talk to him again.

So Kwon Joo complied. She climbed onto Kang Woo’s bed which was just a thin mattress with a pillow, sat on the corner as Kang Woo ordered, then took her bowl. She just realized the bed was very close to the floor, so she wasn’t too far from where Kang Woo was sitting.

“You still can hear them?” Kang Woo asked without taking his eyes off his bowl.

Kwon Joo smiled slightly, finishing the rest of the noodles in her bowl in one bite.

“If so, I can bang on the next room door, order them to continue whatever they’re doing after you get home.”

Hearing his words, Kwon Joo couldn’t help but laugh. Luckily she had finished swallowing. She just realized she was actually laughing, when she saw Kang Woo looking at her with a look of amazement.

Kwon Joo put her bowl back on the table beside the bed, looking at Kang Woo with sparkling brown eyes. “I still can hear it a bit, but it sounds like they’ll be done soon. There was the sound of a sizzling roasting machine that had to be turned off before it caught fire.”

“Luckily it wasn’t me who interrupted them,” Kang Woo shrugged nonchalantly, then put another bite of noodles into his mouth. He notices Kwon Joo is now watching him. “Are you done?”

Kwon Joo nodded.

“Next time you want me to eat with you, don’t bother going out,” Kang Woo said expressionlessly.

“I don’t want you to stay in the apartment all the time. You have to go out every now and then.”

“It’s no use taking me out to eat if you can’t enjoy the crowd yourself.”

Kwon Joo was silent, staring at Kang Woo without blinking. “So you brought me here because I was disturbed by the crowd in the restaurant earlier? I thought it was you who wouldn’t like crowds—“

Kang Woo placed his empty bowl on the floor expressionlessly. “You were holding your head earlier. And true, I don’t like crowds. That’s why I don’t want to eat with the team either. They’re noisy. And super nosy.”

Kwon Joo’s smile made Kang Woo frown.

“Do Timjang-nim, did you accept my dinner invitation because you knew I wouldn’t be noisy?”

Kang Woo snorted. “I myself don’t know why I accepted your invitation.”

Kwon Joo slightly pursed her lips. “But you said ‘next time’. If I asked you to eat with me again, you would accept it, right?”

Kang Woo’s eyes locked on Kwon Joo’s pursed lips, but he managed to answer with a shrug, his face still expressionless. “Depends on who’s coming.”

“Just the two of us.” Kwon Joo answered quickly, making Kang Woo somewhat surprised. “We can eat together in peace like this.”

“Whatever,” answered Kang Woo coldly, but he still looked at Kwon Joo. Her sparkling brown eyes, as well as her smiling lips, made it difficult for Kang Woo to take his eyes off.

“Ah, since I’m the one who invited you for dinner today, let me pay for the jjajangmyeon,” Kwon Joo offers as Kang Woo walks into the kitchen with two empty bowls in his hands.

“Okay.”

Kwon Joo chuckled. “Usually when a man and a woman eat together, the man will try to pay, or at least offer to pay.”

“So?” Kang Woo answered from the kitchen. He didn’t hear Kwon Joo answer, so Kang Woo added with a sigh.

“Next time, I’ll pay.”