Chapter 6 – Stay
The final arrest should have been simple.
That was what everyone thought.
The suspect had nowhere left to run. Cornered inside an unfinished parking structure, rain dripping through exposed concrete, police lights flashing against wet walls. Backup surrounded the exits.
End of the case.
That’s what it was supposed to be.
“Drop the weapon!”
Geon-woo’s voice carried clearly across the open level.
The suspect hesitated – shaking, desperate – gun wavering between officers.
Ido stood a few steps behind cover, heart hammering. Everything felt stretched thin, like one wrong breath could snap the moment.
“Think carefully,” Geon-woo continued, calm, steady. “It’s over.”
For a second, it looked like the man might listen.
Then panic won.
The gun fired.
The sound cracked through the structure.
Ido didn’t even remember moving – just the flash, the echo…
…and Geon-woo jerking backward.
He hit the ground hard.
Everything stopped.
“Sir-?!”
Ido ran before anyone could stop him, dropping beside him. The world narrowed until nothing else existed.
“Geon…woo… hey… hey!”
No response.
His hands shook as he grabbed his shoulders. But Geon-woo wasn’t moving.
Ido’s chest tightened painfully.
“No… no, no-”
His voice broke before he realized… he was crying.
“You idiot,” he whispered desperately, shaking him slightly. “You said to stay behind cover- you said-!”
His vision blurred completely now. He couldn’t hear what the officers were saying around him.
All he could see was Geon-woo lying too still.
“Wake up,” Ido choked. “Please… just wake up…”
A groan.
…
Ido froze.
Geon-woo’s brows pulled together as he sucked in a sharp breath, eyes slowly opening.
“…Why… are you crying?”
Ido stared at him.
“You- got shot…” he said, voice breaking.
Geon-woo blinked, still disoriented, then glanced down at his chest.
At the vest.
At the very obvious, standard-issue, everyone-is-wearing-it vest.
A beat.
The world slowly came back.
“…Right.”
The shouting. The officers. The fact that everyone was staring at him.
Someone nearby let out a quiet, “We told him…”
Another added, “Multiple times.”
Ido’s brain caught up all at once.
The vest.
Of course the vest.
They were all wearing one.
They always wore one.
He just-
Forgot.
Completely.
Ido went very still.
“…Oh.”
A few officers turned away, shoulders shaking.
One of them actually snorted.
Geon-woo pushed himself up slightly, wincing from the impact, and looked at him – not laughing, but definitely trying not to.
That made it worse.
Ido’s face burned instantly.
“You-” he pointed at him, mortified and furious at the same time, “-you passed out!”
“For a second,” Geon-woo said, still catching his breath.
“That’s not normal!”
“I got shot.”
“You had a vest!”
“It still hurts.”
“That’s not the point!”
Someone behind them lost it completely and started laughing.
Ido shot them a glare. “Stop laughing!”
That only made it worse.
Even Geon-woo’s lips twitched slightly now.
Ido stood up abruptly, dragging a hand down his face.
“Unbelievable,” he muttered. “All of you- unbelievable.”
Geon-woo looked up at him, eyes softer now despite the faint smile.
“…You were worried.”
Ido froze.
“…No, I wasn’t.”
A pause.
“…You were crying.”
“I was not-”
“You were.”
Ido turned away immediately. “You literally got shot. Anyone would react like that.”
“Not like that.”
“That was a normal reaction!”
“It wasn’t.”
Ido grabbed the nearest piece of equipment and pretended to be very busy with it.
“I’m going home after this,” he said flatly.
Behind him, the officers were still laughing.
Geon-woo just watched him quietly.
The case officially ended two days later.
Paperwork replaced adrenaline. The department slowly returned to normal.
Ido thought things would go back to the way they were.
They didn’t.
Geon-woo seemed… restless. Like he kept starting sentences and stopping halfway.
Finally, late one evening after everyone else left, he spoke.
“Detective Choi.”
No “Ido.” No formal tone.
Just his name.
Ido looked up.
Geon-woo stood awkwardly near his desk, hands in his pockets like he didn’t know what to do with them.
“I need to say something,” he said.
Ido’s stomach tightened.
Geon-woo didn’t speak right away.
He just stood there for a moment, like he was deciding if he should even say anything at all. His fingers tapped lightly against the desk, then stopped.
“I thought…” he started, then trailed off.
A quiet exhale.
“I thought it was just part of the job,” he said, slower this time. “Looking out for you. Keeping things… where they’re supposed to be.”
He gave a small, almost awkward shake of his head, like he already knew that didn’t sound convincing.
“So I kept my distance.”
Another pause.
Not because he forgot what to say – but because saying it out loud felt different now.
He hesitated, clearly uncomfortable.
“I was wrong.”
Silence filled the office.
“When you were in danger,” he continued quietly, “I stopped thinking like a leader. I just… wanted you safe. More than anything else.”
Ido’s heartbeat grew louder.
Geon-woo met his eyes.
…
“I like you,” he said simply. “Not as a subordinate. Not just as a partner.”
No dramatic speech.
Just honesty.
And somehow that made it heavier.
Ido’s brain completely shut down.
“…Oh.”
Which was absolutely not the response he meant to give.
Geon-woo nodded once, accepting it too easily. “You don’t have to answer.”
Ido stood abruptly. “I- I need to go.”
And then he actually left.
The moment the door closed behind him, he pressed both hands over his face.
“…Oh my god.”
Sleep didn’t come that night.
For either of them.
Ido lay in bed staring at the ceiling, replaying every moment – every look, every time Geon-woo checked if he was okay, every quiet conversation in parked cars.
The realization crept in slowly.
It had never just been admiration.
He liked him.
A lot.
Meanwhile, across the city, Geon-woo sat in his car without remembering how he got there.
Eventually, he found himself parked outside Ido’s apartment building.
He hadn’t planned to come.
He just… couldn’t sit still.
Upstairs, unable to sleep, Ido stepped onto his veranda for air.
And froze.
“…Is that-?”
Geon-woo stood beside his car below, hands in his coat pockets, looking like he was reconsidering every life decision he’d ever made.
Ido leaned over the railing.
“Sir..?”
Geon-woo looked up immediately, startled.
“I- I wasn’t going to bother you,” he said quickly.
“Uh… wait there.”
Ido disappeared inside before he could argue.
A minute later, he rushed outside, slightly out of breath.
They stood facing each other under the streetlight, neither sure where to start.
“You drove here?” Ido asked.
“…Yes.”
“That’s insane.”
“…Probably.”
Silence.
Then Ido laughed softly, shaking his head.
“I couldn’t sleep either,” he admitted.
Geon-woo looked relieved just hearing that.
Silence.
Then, Ido stepped closer.
“I… panicked earlier,” he said. “When-when you confessed.”
“I know.”
“But…”
Silence.
“But I figured something out.”
He took a breath.
…
“I like you too.”
The words hung between them, quiet but steady.
Geon-woo blinked, clearly not expecting the directness.
“We don’t have to rush,” Ido added quickly. “We can take this slow. Figure it out properly.”
Geon-woo nodded, a small smile finally appearing- soft, almost shy.
“Yes…”
The distance between them felt suddenly unnecessary.
Geon-woo closed it first.
Then-
The kiss was hesitant at first, warm and careful – like both of them were checking if this was real.
Then Geon-woo’s hand gently settled at his waist, grounding, and the second kiss came easier. Deeper. Still gentle, but full of everything they hadn’t said for months.
When they finally pulled back, both slightly breathless, Ido laughed quietly.
“…We’re going to have to be very professional at work.”
Geon-woo sighed. “That will be difficult.”
They stood there a little longer, not saying much.
They didn’t need to.
No promises. No dramatic declarations.
Just trust.
And the quiet understanding that from now on, they wouldn’t face things alone – not as boss and subordinate, but as two people willing to learn each other slowly, one day at a time.
.
.
.
THE END.
(Epilogue soon)