Chapter Text
In the midst of the bell ringing a voice sounds from far away, not far enough to be on the second floor but enough to be muffled by the sheer quantity of books between the two officers at the door and whoever it is yelling,
“Sooyoung, I swear to god if you’re here just to complain about your enemies to lovers shtick again I’m kicking you out!”
Uriel blinks blankly but doesn’t move, her eyes flit to me so she misses the adorably disheveled man raising his head from behind the counter. He seems to notice that we are not this “Sooyoung” as he drops immediately back down. I smirk and step in, Uriel bypasses me in quick strides as if taking offense to missing sight of the man. Luckily, the man pops back up again before she can huff and puff and blow his store down— his hair looks to be hastily combed down with his fingers and his thumbs are valiantly fighting as if trying to distract us or himself from the growing blush on his face. He pouts at Uriel and says in near whines,
“I’m sorry… I thought you were someone else. Uh, is-is there anything I can help you find?”
Her back is turned to me but I don’t have to see her face to know that she’s immediately smitten, if she wasn’t on the clock she’d say something about this guy being the perfect uke… or was it a seme? I don’t know. The bottom one. Jihye has protested many times that police are always on the job so she should -never- talk about her yaoi crap— a sentiment I share as I’m usually a part of her fantasies. Unfortunately Jihye got Uriel a yaoi paddle for her last birthday so I cannot give her the respect her work warrants…
‘Uriels been quiet for too long.’
I step forward and flash my police badge, registering the man tensing up with uncritical eyes before saying,
“There’s been some activity in the nearby area, we’d simply like to ask if you’ve seen anything.”
I flash a smile I happen to know comes off as attractive to most people but I can’t help to worry about how it looks when the man stops looking concerned about Uriel and instead looks at me. He’s not stunning, nor is he refined enough to be exactly elegant… but he’s undoubtably pretty. Shockingly pretty. His lips and eyes are thin but firm, and the rest of his face seems soft— the blush making him seem similar to the clouds over a sunset. With a task in mind the man’s eyes firm up and he loses just a bit of his ephemeral beauty as he puts on a business smile,
“Of course, would you like to sit down?”
Uriel nods and he moves to turn but takes a second to eye me again, while I wonder how to embarrass him again he asks a question as if taking revenge for my concerning thoughts,
“Sir, do you happen to have an Orphaned sibling? Or are you yourself…”
He trails off as if realizing the rudeness of his question, but I feel as I look at his face that it was rather he wanted me to realize that he realized the rudeness of his question but couldn’t help himself to ask it… I’m certain he could have. I’ve just met him, of course, but he has a tone like he’s feeling around for how far he can go. His lashes flutter as he blinks an awkward gaze at a bookshelf and wrings his hands, I suddenly feel like a criminal for thinking something so rude about this innocent man— logically I should just lock that thought up and instead turn my attention to how this man could’ve guessed but instead I confirm,
“Yes, I am an orphan.”
Slanted Doe eyes widen just slightly and land on me, he flinches and blinks away as he meets my eyes, hoping he’ll look at me again I continue,
“Do you know my sister?”
Unfortunately the man does not look at me again. He lightly shakes his head and he tries to speak,
“Boss! I’ve finished almost everything but I’m not sure where some of the ‘historical’ books go!”
The man’s face relaxes enough to look humored and he finally looks at me again, he tilts his head so he isn’t looking through his eyelashes and he asks,
”Do you need my employee’s testimony too?”
I give a curt nod and the man nods back with closed eyes and a cute smile, he turns and yells at the curtain blocking the stairs,
“Joonghyuk! Come down!”
He doesn’t see my reaction to the name, my name, so he walks towards a set of couches seated by the window and asks,
“And tea?”
After a few seconds of not getting an answer he turns back to us and blinks innocently,
“Sir? Ma’am? No tea?”
I gruffly answer,
“No, thanks.”
And continue to glare at the man who looks infuriatingly like me, whose glaring back from where he just flew down the stairs and tore the curtain aside.