"isn't he like the fastest hacker on the perimeter? why is it taking so long?"

the blond guy, yoongi she came to know, averted his eyes from the computer and flashed jisoo a sided-glance that successfully shut her up. lalisa's chest heaved with laughter but she held it back, aware that it would be but another distraction for him and jisoo all alone had managed to make him fidget on his seat at least twenty times in the span of six minutes. 

quite a gift she was bestowed with. 

"is it—" 

yoongi clicked his tongue and swirled around on his chair to face the brunette.

"how high are your frequencies because fucking hell, your voice is deafening." jisoo's eyes widened and her lips parted in disbelief. "i'm trying to decode a set of codes that would take me up at least 24 hours so shut the fuck up and let me do the job." 

that seemed to do the job because she slumped into her seat, shoulders sagged, for the remaining hour while facing the wall before her. the sight was both whimsical and pitiful as lalisa knew how much the eldest girl enjoyed talking but there were plenty of other times to do so and till then, she sufficed in folding the stack of papers laying stray across the table into tiny origami while mumbling to herself like a mad woman. something along the lines of what a inconsiderate prick.

"we're in." yoongi announced, after one gut-wrenching minute, and she sighed in relief. 

how do you catch a criminal, hyun-tae asked, and she knew the answer now. her mind was no longer clouded and fuelled by hatred. she was staring beyond his ruthless nature and the four bodies he left behind. reverse his game and use his rules against him. make him crawl to you.

"uh, what do you need these for?" yoongi says, but it's not an assertive question and not really out of sheer curiosity either. rather than curious, he's baffled by what's flashing on the screen and lalisa grins down at him before resting both hands on either side of the table.

"to lure him in." she mutters in a relaxed tone as if it was obvious enough for her to point out and her finger glides along the list before it stills under one word—name—more precisely.  

"what's your idea?" jisoo questions, rubbing the inside of her wrist absentmindedly, and perhaps to ease the soreness of folding what seemed to go over thirty origami pieces. her eyes are wide, matching yoongi's expression and both stare at lalisa expectantly.

"we're sending him a souvenir." she supressed a smile, glimpsing as the two of them exchanged confused glances. 

"you mean—" jisoo began, dithering to finish the sentence.

"yes, soo. we know about his hideout and the fact that he has a child kept under the shadows. send jimin to his ex wife's house and get the girl. make sure she's comfortably settled." this is what hyun-tae meant. to always be two steps ahead and find a flaw in his plan. a weakness. surely, his was ji-yoona. his three year old daughter. and lalisa could only hope he wasn't expecting this counter attack. 

"we're giving him no other choice but to come to us." 

----

lalisa did everything to drift her mind off of it. from reading books to taking a walk outside. but none of it worked and she found herself slumped onto the nearest bench in front of her apartment's building. 

before her, the sidewalk lit up and even though some of the lights flickered every once in a while, she marvelled at the sight of it. she vaguely caught on laughter that stretched into the distance and the cicadas chirping only grew louder. she sighed, and tilted her head back, aware that another sleepless night expected her.

"i guess this makes us neighbours then." 

she jolted from her spot to find jungkook staring down at her, a smile outlining his lips, and she clutched her chest with one hand. 

"you can't just creep on someone and scare the shit out of them." she whispered and rolled her eyes to which he only chuckled in response. she watched him take the spot beside her from her peripheral vision and allowed herself to a quick glimpse. he was wearing a pair of shorts and a plain black shirt, a contrast from his usual suit, and quite honestly, lalisa liked this side of him better.

casual and a clear hint that he wanted to keep his life normal and stress-free outside orpheus. 

"you can't sleep either, uh?" 

she acknowledged him with a curt nod of her head before pursing her lips.

he made no further attempt to strike up a conversation and instead, both of them watched the street on the other side. it seemed that tonight was much busier than the previous nights. as a group of teenagers chattered animatedly while two guys swung their arms around each other and erupted in a roar of laughter. probably drunk, she thought while scrunching her nose.

"you should loosen up too." jungkook whispered, and as if sensing lalisa staring, he craned his neck to face her. "you have a life when you're not dealing with threatening situations, i mean."

she blinked, processing his words.

"that's your way of calling me a stuck-up? cute." she murmured and leaned back to close both eyes. lalisa was awfully aware of his intense stare on her and it was starting to bother her to a dreadful extent. jungkook on the other side, seemed very much aware of it but made no effort to drift his stare.

"you're much more than just a proficient detective, manoban." 

her eyelids twitched, cajoled by his low whisper, and their eyes connected for the second time. he had that same look on his face. devoid of malice and hinting to something she couldn't decipher. it made her face burn and her insides twist. lalisa couldn't really explain it, but she found herself growing fond of it. of his undivided attention.

"i'm not really following you so—" she breathed. "do enlighten me."

"you're an interesting woman, lalisa."