Morning light streamed through the bare windows of Dae-hyun's apartment, casting long shadows across the worn couch where they still sat. The city hummed awake outside, but inside, time seemed suspended.
Dae-hyun looked at Seo-ah—really looked at her. At the way the light caught her dark hair. At the small smile playing at her lips. At the impossible fact that she was here, with him, after everything.
"So," he said slowly, his voice rough from sleep and soju and something else entirely. "Are we dating now?"
Seo-ah blinked. Then a laugh escaped her—genuine, warm, surprised.
"You're asking me that?"
"I've never done this kind of thing." He said it simply, without embarrassment. Just fact. "I don't know the rules. The steps. What comes next."
Her laughter softened into something tender. "Dae-hyun. The great Captain Kang, legendary detective, hero of Seoul... doesn't know how to date?"
"I know how to catch criminals. I know how to read crime scenes. I know how to fight." He met her eyes. "I don't know how to do this."
She reached out and took his hand. "Then let's figure it out together."
He looked at their joined hands. "What does that mean?"
"It means... maybe we date. If you like me. If I like you." She squeezed gently. "We see where things go. No pressure. No expectations. Just... us."
Dae-hyun was quiet for a long moment. Then he pulled her close and kissed her again.
Deeper this time. Longer. Filled with all the words he didn't know how to say.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, he pressed his forehead to hers.
"I do like you," he whispered. "I don't know when it started. I don't know why. But I do."
Seo-ah's heart swelled. "Then let's date, Captain Kang. Let's see how good you are at romance."
His lips twitched. "I'm better at action than words."
"I've noticed." She grinned. "Action I can work with."
They sat there for a moment, wrapped in each other, the empty apartment feeling less empty by the second.
Then Seo-ah checked her phone and sighed. "I need to go home. Change. Get ready for work."
Dae-hyun nodded slowly, reluctantly. "Okay."
"Okay?" She raised an eyebrow. "That's all? Okay?"
"What else should I say?"
She laughed again and kissed him quickly. "Say you'll take me on a date. After work."
"A date."
"Yes. A real one. Dinner. Conversation. No dead bodies." She stood, pulling him up with her. "Think you can manage that?"
Dae-hyun considered. "I'll try."
"Good." She headed for the door, then paused. "Oh, and Dae-hyun?"
"Yes?"
"Don't tell anyone. About us. Not yet." Her expression softened. "Let's figure this out first. Before the whole team knows."
He nodded. "Agreed."
She kissed him one more time—soft, sweet, promising—and then she was gone.
Dae-hyun stood alone in his apartment, staring at the door she'd walked through.
For the first time in years, the emptiness didn't feel so empty.
---
An hour later, Dae-hyun walked into the bullpen.
Min-jun was already there, nursing his usual coffee. He looked up sharply, studying Dae-hyun's face with the practiced eye of someone who'd known him for years.
"You look better," Min-jun observed.
Dae-hyun grunted and moved toward his office.
"Wait." Min-jun's voice stopped him. "Something's different. You're... I don't know. Lighter?"
"I'm fine, Min."
"Fine. Sure." Min-jun's eyes narrowed. "This wouldn't have anything to do with why Seo-ah came in twenty minutes ago looking like she'd seen a ghost and won the lottery at the same time?"
Dae-hyun's step faltered. Just slightly. But Min-jun caught it.
His grin widened. "Interesting."
"Nothing's interesting. Focus on the case." Dae-hyun disappeared into his office and closed the door.
Min-jun chuckled to himself. "Sure, Captain. Nothing at all."
---
The others arrived over the next fifteen minutes. Jin-young stumbled in with his usual chaos. Shi-eok moved quietly to his spot by the window. Hae-rin settled at her desk with calm precision. Soo-ah bounced in, full of morning energy.
And Seo-ah sat at her desk, composed as always, but with a small smile she couldn't quite hide.
Soo-ah noticed immediately. "Unnie! You look happy today."
Seo-ah's smile widened just slightly. "Do I?"
"Yes! What happened?"
"Nothing." Seo-ah's voice was smooth. "Just a good morning."
Soo-ah squinted suspiciously but let it go.
Dae-hyun emerged from his office, a file in his hand. He didn't look at Seo-ah. Didn't acknowledge her at all. Professional as always.
But Min-jun noticed the way his shoulders relaxed slightly when he passed her desk. Noticed the tiny shift in his posture.
He said nothing. Just sipped his coffee and smiled into the cup.
---
"Alright." Dae-hyun moved to the whiteboard, where the new case waited. "Homicide. Park Jung-ho, age fifty-two, wealthy businessman found dead in his Gangnam apartment three days ago."
Jin-young spoke up. "I've got financials. The guy was loaded—multiple businesses, properties, investments. But here's the thing." He pulled up documents on his screen. "He was also deeply in debt. Like, terrifyingly in debt. His businesses were failing, he'd taken out massive loans, and he was weeks away from bankruptcy."
Min-jun leaned forward. "So someone had motive."
"Multiple someones," Hae-rin added. "Business partners, creditors, competitors. Maybe even family."
Soo-ah flipped through her notes. "The wife found him. She says she came home from a trip and found him dead in his study. No signs of forced entry."
Shi-eok spoke quietly. "So he knew his killer. Let them in."
"Probably." Dae-hyun studied the board. "Cause of death?"
"Blunt force trauma to the head." Jin-young pulled up photos. "Someone hit him with something heavy. The weapon wasn't found."
Hae-rin stood and moved to the board. "The study was ransacked. Drawers open, papers scattered. But the wife says nothing valuable was taken—cash, jewelry, electronics all still there."
"So robbery wasn't the motive." Seo-ah's voice was calm, professional. "Someone was looking for something."
Dae-hyun nodded. "Or making it look like they were."
Min-jun rubbed his chin. "So we've got a wealthy guy about to lose everything, killed in his own home, study tossed, nothing stolen. Whoever did this wanted something specific."
"Or wanted him dead and made it look like a robbery." Hae-rin circled a point on the board. "The question is what."
Jin-young's fingers flew across his keyboard. "I'm pulling his phone records, emails, everything. If someone was threatening him, there'll be a trace."
Soo-ah raised her hand. "I can re-interview the wife. Sometimes people remember more after the shock wears off."
"Do it." Dae-hyun looked at Shi-eok. "Go with her. Watch for inconsistencies."
Shi-eok nodded.
"Min-jun, you're on the business associates. Find out who stood to gain from his death—or who stood to lose everything if he went bankrupt."
Min-jun grinned. "My favorite kind of interview. Rich people lying to me."
"Hae-rin, keep building the profile. Who kills a man in his own home? Personal or professional?"
"Working on it."
Dae-hyun's eyes swept across them—his team, his people, his strange and wonderful family. They landed on Seo-ah for just a fraction of a second longer than necessary.
"Seo-ah, you're with me. We're going to the crime scene. Fresh eyes on old evidence."
She nodded, her face composed. "Yes, Captain."
Min-jun caught the look. His grin widened. He said nothing.
---
They drove to Gangnam in silence.
Not uncomfortable silence—the kind that comes between people who don't need constant words. Dae-hyun focused on the road. Seo-ah watched the city pass.
Finally, she spoke. "You're good at this."
"At what?"
"Pretending nothing happened." She glanced at him. "Back there. With the team. You didn't look at me once."
Dae-hyun's hands tightened slightly on the wheel. "You said not to tell anyone."
"I said not to tell anyone. I didn't say ignore me completely." A small smile played at her lips. "You can look at me, Dae-hyun. Just don't make it obvious."
He glanced at her—quick, sharp, then back to the road.
"Like that," she approved.
A pause. Then: "I'm not good at this."
"Dating? Or pretending?"
"Either." He pulled up to a red light and finally turned to face her properly. "But I want to try. With you."
Seo-ah's heart did something complicated in her chest. "Good. Because I want to try too."
The light turned green. He faced forward and drove on.
But his hand reached across the console and found hers. Just for a moment. Just a squeeze.
Then back to the wheel, professional as ever.
Seo-ah smiled out the window and said nothing.
---
The crime scene apartment was still sealed, dust gathering on surfaces, the ghost of violence lingering in the air. They moved through it together—Dae-hyun with his methodical gaze, Seo-ah with her actress's eye for detail.
"The study," Dae-hyun said, leading her down a hallway.
They stood in the room where a man had died. Bloodstains still marked the floor, outlined in chalk. Drawers hung open. Papers scattered.
Seo-ah turned slowly, taking it in. "He was sitting at his desk when it happened. The blood pattern—he was facing forward when he was hit."
Dae-hyun nodded. "So he trusted whoever was behind him."
"Or didn't see them coming." She crouched, studying the floor. "The drawers—they're open, but nothing's fallen out. Someone opened them carefully. Looking for something specific."
"Not searching. Browsing." Dae-hyun moved to the desk. "And they didn't find what they wanted. That's why the papers are scattered. Frustration."
Seo-ah stood and joined him. "So they came here, killed him, then looked for something. Didn't find it. Left in a hurry."
"Or took their time and made it look like a hurry." Dae-hyun's eyes were sharp. "This wasn't random. This was personal."
They stood together in the silence of the dead man's study, two detectives working a case, something new and fragile growing between them.
Outside, the city churned on.
Inside, Team Zero kept hunting.