Prosecutor Yoo Jung-In hated waiting at the crosswalk, but the street was too wide and too dangerous at this hour for her to try jogging in between cars.
She was getting restless, bothered by the cold wind that was bristling her fringe, when the corner of her eye caught a glimpse of them.
They were on the other side of the street, going back up the pavement.
A man and a woman.
The man walked with long strides, his hands in his trousers' pockets, and turned round from time to time, not slowing down.
The young woman tried to keep up. She had her eyes on her tablet and seemed to explain something. Her leather bag beat her thighs and her hood lined with white fur had slid a little on her shoulders. Her short brown hair was gathered in a mini ponytail.
The man listened to her and sometimes interrupted her, his chin over his shoulder, still going forward. He was wearing a suit under his open black jacket, and a sky blue tie. He had short brown hair, and a fine goatee.
Yoo Jung-In tilted her head aside.
Handsome.
But a little frightening.
There was something in the way the man moved, something feline, powerful - a vague and indefinite danger.
The couple stopped on the other side of the crosswalk, in front of her. The young woman kept talking, sliding her fingers on the tablet, light on the slender heels of her boots, with a soft smile and sparkling eyes. The man was looking straight ahead, thoughtful, his legs firmly standing on the pavement as if it belonged to him.
He nodded, frowning.
The team leader and his secretary, probably. Or something of the kind.
The prosecutor snorted.
Her own boss, Min Tae-yeon, would have had an terribly blasé look. He would certainly have raised a disapproving eyebrow and pinched his lips while listening to a report done with so much enthusiasm.
His catlike eyes would have settled on her, half-closed, and he would have asked a tricky question after a while, as if he was delighted to see her losing the thread of her thought.
It always looked like he deliberately tormented her.
Always mysterious, always acting lone, always walking around as if he lived on an upper plan of existence.
Raah!
She blew in her cheeks, furious.
Even when he was not there, he drove her nuts.
The light was still red and the stream of cars did not decrease.
On the other side of the road, the man had taken the tablet and was looking at it with attention. He smiled - a sarcastic smile, folded at the corner of his mouth - then gave back the small screen to the young woman, saying something that made her raise her eyes, saddened.
Yoo Jung-In shivered.
She changed her mind.
Prosecutor Min Tae-yeon was a jerk and showed just as much feeling as a piece of wood, but when he smiled - and that happened only very rarely - he smiled sincerely, almost friendly.
The smile of the man on the opposite pavement was the one of an animal that smells its prey, cruel and ice-cold.
The smile of a human being who has lost his heart.
The smile of a dead man.
Even Min Tae-yeon had a soul, somewhere, buried under his inflexible will. They saw it when he addressed Ji-ae, for example, or when he shared one of the private jokes Detective Hwang always pulled.
A gust of wind almost knocked down Jung-In who yapped.
Rain drops crashed on the road.
She gave a murderous glance to the sky loaded with big dark clouds.
Great.
A dirty murder was the last thing she missed for her day to be completely ruined.
And the light was still red, as if it was broken on purpose.
The longest light in humanity history or what ? Who are they kidding ?
She grumbled through her teeth, startling the people waiting next to her.
On the other side of the street, the sudden blow of wind had made the young woman stumble. The man had caught her arm before she fell. She was apologizing, smiling, her fingertips fixing her ruffled hair.
The light turned green.
Jung-In hurried on the crosswalk, checking her watch. If she ran, she would be in the office before her male colleagues and maybe the results of the sample would have arrived. She dreamed to have the information ahead of him and to shut up prosecutor Min right before he asked the question.
There was a screeching of brakes, followed by furious exclamations. The crossing of the boulevard was slowed down by the passers-by who stopped to watch the quarrel between the drivers. Jung-In elbowed through, annoyed.
She found herself shoulder to shoulder with the young woman who wore a hood lined with fur.
- "This is going to turn bad", was saying this one. "They look ready to punch each other."
- "Somebody will eventually call the police", answered the man absently. "Did we receive the prosecutors' investigation report?"
- "Min-Ho said they faxed it. We'll have it when we get to the office.
- "Why didn't they send an e-mail?" mumbled the man with some desdain.
Yoo Jung-In had her tongue raised to retort something acid, but she broke off.
When you were this close, the almond eyes of the man were very soft, as they layed on the young woman.
His severe expression was softened, calmed.
- "Team Leader, seing that we're certainly going to spend the night there, Detective Baek suggested we order our meal", said suddenly the young woman with the little computer. "Do you prefer Chinese or Japanese? "
- "Sushi", said the man without hesitating.
He stretched out his arm and pulled the hood of his colleague over her head.
- "Nam Ye Ri", he said in a reproachful voice. "Arent' you cold, like that?"
The gesture was a bit abrupt, a little awkward, but Jung-In smiled as she made it through the human jam. She stopped just before the pavement, turned around on the last white strip.
The couple was already on the other side of the street, going to the city center.
Sweet.
She is not afraid of him.
And this guy seems to try being more of a human because of her.
Cute.
She wondered for which office they worked and if the report they waited for had passed by her own Public Prosecutor's Department.
Her phone rang.
She took it out of her quilted jacket, walking faster.
Incoming call : Prosecutor Min
She pouted.
- "Yes, boss?"
- "Where are you? We're waiting for you!"
She raised her eyes.
As far as she was concerned, obtaining the same kind of friendly look from her boss was just a dream.
- "Comin', comin'…" she growled, unhappily.
- "Prosecutor Yoo?" said cheerfully detective Hwang' voice in the receiver. " Hurry, Dong-man brought a dish his mother cooked and that smells really good!"
- "I'm on my way", she sighed. "Is he mad?"
A chuckle.
- "Quite. I think he was afraid something had happened to you… "
A stifled noise, then the stiff voice of prosecutor Min.
- "Don't dawdle. I'm hanging up."
Jung-In stopped to look at the screen, a little bewilered.
Then she burst out laughing.
This day was not so bad, after all.
It began raining and the young woman ran, putting her arms in protection over her head.
Nam Ye Ri Eonni …
I too, am going to make he smile at me like this - my boss who forgot what it meant to be a human being.
Behind her, the light turned red again, and the stream of cars flowed down the road, almost fuzzy, between both pavements.