Chapter – 11
Late at night.
The research building stood dark, its lights turned off.
Inside Yushin’s lab, the small beam of a flashlight wavered.
Clink. Clink.
The metallic sound of a lock being picked broke the silence. Cheonga took another deep breath to steady her anxious breathing.
“Ah… why isn’t this working?”
No matter how much she jiggled the bobby pin stuck into the lock, it wouldn’t open.
Picking a lock like this should’ve been child’s play.
The very first thing Cheonga learned after being transferred to the Incheon Jungbu Police Station was this pin-ticking technique. A petty thief had demonstrated it once, and to everyone’s surprise, Cheonga had mastered it immediately.
She was faster than the thief himself, with a higher success rate, and she’d even made good use of it several times at crime scenes.
And yet—
The lock securing Min Yushin’s desk drawer showed no sign of budging.
Her suspicion surged sharply.
Just what on earth was he hiding to use such an elaborate lock?
Muttering irritably, she shoved the bobby pin back into the lock again—
Step. Step.
Cheonga’s gaze snapped toward the lab door. The steady sound of dress shoes echoed down the quiet hallway.
She quickly switched off the flashlight, swallowed her breath, and strained her ears toward the noise outside.
“……”
This place was nothing like a ward that operated 24 hours a day.
On the fifth floor, which housed only examination rooms and laboratories, there was no one left at this hour—only the emergency lights remained on.
Cheonga fixed her gaze on the dark doorway, alert for even the faintest leak of light from outside.
The footsteps in the hallway stopped.
In the darkness, a large silhouette came to a halt in front of the lab door.
Well-shaped fingers reached out and tapped on the door. Tap. Tap. He lifted his other hand to the in-ear device in his ear, and a response came moments later.
[Confirmation complete. Signal detected at number four.]
“This is Room 503, Professor Na Seungyeon’s office.”
[Okay. Confirmed.]
Earlier that day, an unnamed mid-sized pharmaceutical company’s sales rep had visited the gastroenterology department of Bokseong University Hospital. He’d greeted each professor and handed them promotional items bearing the company’s logo.
It was a typical promo kit—an expensive tonic and two vitamin capsules. But hidden inside one of the vitamin capsules was a listening device.
Yushin’s role was simple.
He matched each bug’s number with the professor’s office where it had been placed, setting up the surveillance system.
At this late, silent hour—
He lightly knocked on the professors’ office doors.
Then Chamkkae would check the sound to confirm whether the listening device was functioning properly.
If the knock wasn’t detected, it meant there was no bug in that room.
Either it had already been consumed—or thrown away.
Tap. Tap.
[……]
“No response from 505?”
[Ah, damn it. There’s constant static, but I can’t hear the knocking.]
Yushin let out a small chuckle.
“That’s Yang Dongjun’s office. He probably already took it—or brought it home.”
[Why would he take that home?]
“He’s the kind of guy who even takes hospital hand cream home. If you’re sending the guys again tomorrow, tell them to hand out like ten promo kits. Enough that he can’t deal with them all at once.”
[Yeah. Okay.]
“So that’s everything for today, right? I’m heading home. God, I’m exhausted.”
[You sit at a desk all day—what are you tired for?]
“Want to die? I’m killing myself reading specialty textbooks day and night just to play professor. This gig isn’t even my fate.”
Yushin continued grumbling as he walked.
“You think endoscopy is easy? They just plopped me into an internal medicine professor’s seat. I can’t even let it show that I don’t know things. I practice every day just to look competent—”
His voice cut off abruptly as he reached his own office door.
He stopped and frowned.
“Chamkkae.”
His voice was extremely low.
[What is it? Why are you getting all serious?]
Without replying aloud, Yushin pulled out his phone and sent a message.
「Someone’s in my office」
His phone screen blinked almost immediately with a reply.
「Chamkkae: Are you crazy? Do you have anything important in there?」
「No. Nothing. I’m raising a meerkat in there these days.」
The corner of Yushin’s mouth lifted slightly as he tapped on the panel.
「Chamkkae: You can’t even keep a plant alive—what meerkat? Wait, then doesn’t that mean there is a meerkat?」
「Our meerkat should be off work by now. I’ll go in and check who it is.」
「Chamkkae: You sure? You’re terrible at fighting lol」
「Can’t deny that, which is the problem. The only weapon I’ve got is a scalpel.」
「Chamkkae: lol living up to your name」
Yushin shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out an individually wrapped No. 11 blade. He deftly tore off the foil and slipped the blade between his fingers.
If it came to it, he’d aim for the carotid artery.
If that failed, he had a second option—break the collarbone to disable the arm.
But what if they were left-handed?
He had two chances.
After that, he’d likely be overpowered.
Exhaling deeply, Yushin sighed.
「You’ll send backup before I die, right?」
「Chamkkae: Yeah lol I’ll send security—come back alive」
Yushin quietly turned the doorknob, holding his breath, and slowly opened the door.
The room was dark.
Only the glow of the emergency exit sign behind him and faint moonlight seeping through the blinds illuminated the space.
The air inside felt unfamiliar. A sweet, oddly familiar scent—one that should never have been in his office—filled the room.
Yushin scanned the interior.
Stacks of papers and research documents were neatly organized. The table gleamed, the sofa was impeccably arranged—
And on top of it lay a dark shape.
“What…?”
He stepped closer to examine the sofa—
Clatter.
The blade slipped from his slackened fingers, hitting the floor with a small metallic sound. What came into view was Cheonga’s side profile, curled up at the edge of the sofa.
Her eyes were closed, and she was tightly hugging a dry cleaning rag to her chest.
“……”
Yushin stood there for a long moment, staring blankly at the uneven rise and fall of Cheonga’s breathing.
After a while, he tapped his in-ear device, cut the connection, pulled it out, and slipped it into his pocket. Then he slowly approached and crouched down in front of her.
As he watched her for a bit, his expression softened.
“Hey. Ms. Park Bokseon. If you’re pretending to sleep, let’s get up. I’m getting off work and need to change.”
There was no response.
After waiting a little longer, Yushin stood up with a crooked grin.
His hand moved without hesitation to the hem of his lab coat. With a soft thud, it fell onto the sofa.
“Ah, just in case you wake up—I’m saying this now. I don’t wear underwear, so don’t open your eyes by mistake.”
With that, his hand went to his waist.
Her heart was pounding so loudly it felt audible—how long was she planning to keep pretending to sleep?
In an instant, Yushin untied his belt, took off his pants, and tossed them onto the sofa beside Cheonga.
Reaching for the hanger, he quickly pulled on another pair of pants. Then he stepped back toward her.
Whether the unfinished cleaning had exhausted her, or she’d rushed too hard to fake sleep, her hair was a tangled mess, clinging to her face.
“What time is it… at least try a little.”
Without realizing it, his hand reached out and brushed the hair away from her lips.
And at that very moment—
Cheonga’s eyes flew open.
Their gazes locked directly onto each other.
Cheonga raised the back of her hand and wiped at her mouth with a small sniff.
“Just now….”
“Oh. Your hair was stuck there.”
Yushin smiled, his eyes narrowing gently.
“Cleaning must’ve been pretty tiring?”
“Cleaning… um. I guess I… fell asleep for a moment.”
Cheonga sprang to her feet, her eyes involuntarily sweeping over Yushin’s bare upper body. Yushin’s gaze followed hers.
“……”
“Ah—hello? Why, why are you undressed…? Were you exercising? Then I’ll, uh—goodbye!”
She bowed awkwardly, blurted out a complete mess of a farewell, and bolted out of the room.
Still crouched in place, Yushin stared at the lab door where she had disappeared for a long while.
“…This is driving me insane.”
He picked up the scalpel blade from the floor with a hollow laugh. Then he retrieved the in-ear device from his discarded pants, put it back in, and reconnected the call to Chamkkae.
