บท 13: Chicken Restaurant

When Gayoon walked into the station the next afternoon, she was deadbeat. Her nightshift ended at 5 am and the encounter with the strange money lover left her even more tired. She vaguely wondered who the handsome stranger was.

"His looks may be devilish but his tongue is a killer," she sighed. If only he had a gentle personality, she would have followed up on her grandma's advice and latched on to him. Too bad he had a nasty attitude.

She put her bag on her desk and sat on her chair, turning on the computer. The amount of files which needed to be updated were killing her. She had to go through at least 200 old files everyday alongside the new ones which only increased her already thin patience.

"Ugh!" she exclaimed. The database was so outdated that she would have to retype a lot of the information. Looking at the numbers and evidence only made her head spin. Gayoon laid her head down, trying not to cry in anger.

"Whatcha doin?"

A familiar voice made her snap her head up. Jina was looking at her with her doey eyes.

"Kid!" Gayoon said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Did you find my mom?" Jina asked. Gayoon felt a pang of guilt. She was so engrossed in her work, that she could not follow up on the little child's request.

"I...I am trying," Gayoon lied with her fingers crossed under the desk. But Jina narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"You didn't try, did you?" she accused.

Gayoon groaned and lay her head back on the table. "Kid, I haven't been able to sleep for the past few nights due to the damn night shift! Cut me some slack!"

If Jina was being honest with herself, she stopped by to see Gayoon again. After meeting the Lady Cop, she became very curious about her. All day, she was waiting for school to end so that she could meet Gayoon again. She was getting impatient. If she could not find her own mom then she was determined to make Gayoon her mother.

"I know the feeling," Jina sighed as she climbed to sit on the table. She was carrying a school bag on her shoulder. "I rarely get to sleep at night."

Gayoon frowned. "Why?" she asked.

"Casper and Josephine come to visit me at night," Jina replied. "They're really sad and need someone to play with."

"Casper and Josephine?"

"Mmm!" Jina nodded. "They're my friends! They're really nice! I like to play with them even though dad says they're imaginary. But I think they're real!"

"What do you-" Gayoon began but they were interrupted by a loud crash. One of the inmates was throwing a tantrum.

"What kinda shitty food is this?" he yelled. "Sons of bitc-"

Gayoon immediately shut Jina's ears. "Don't listen to them!" she ordered.

"But why is the mister shouting?" Jina asked curiously. "And what is 'shitty'?"

"Hush!" Gayoon scolded. "Don't ever use that word! It's a bad word! Understood?"

She did not want Jina to pick up slangs from the criminals in prison. What if her father found out and pressed charges against them?

"But the mister used it."

"Yeah, well he's a bad guy. He uses it coz he's bad. But our Jina is a good girl. Right?"

"Yes!"

One of the officers went into the cell to deal with the prisoner. An argument was going to ensue so Gayoon picked up Jina in her arms and carried her away towards the pantry which was thankfully empty. Once they were out of earshot, she put Jina down.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "Does your dad know you're here?"

Jina had coerced Driver Jang to take her to the police station once again. She had an inkling that the old man would try to call her father again so she threatened him that if he informed Minho, she would tell the latter about how she caught him with one of the servants inside the mansion.

"He's busy," Jina simply said. "Besides, I'm here to meet you."

Just then, her stomach gave a loud rumble. She had not eaten anything since break time and she was starving.

"You didn't have lunch?" Gayoon exclaimed. "Go home!"

Jina pouted. "I came to visit you and you wouldn't even treat me to lunch," she muttered, feigning sadness while peeking at Gayoon with her innocent eyes. "And here I was, trying to become a cool detective like you."

She let out a loud sigh. Gayoon bit her lip, finding herself in a dilemma. Jina looked so sad that her heart was wrenching at the little child's sight.

I guess it wouldn't hurt to buy her lunch, she thought.

"Fine!" Gayoon conceded. "I'll treat you to lunch. But don't make it a daily thing!"

"Yaii!" Jina cheered and hugged Gayoon. Touched by the little girl's gestures, Gayoon asked, "What do you wanna eat?"

"Chicken fry!"

"Ahh the restaurant across the road has some great chicken fries!" Gayoon exclaimed. "Let's go!"

She took Jina's hand and together, they left the station to walk towards the chicken restaurant. Gayoon picked up Jina in her arms again, waiting for the pedestrian signal to turn green.

"How long have you been a cop?" Jina queried.

"I passed my test when I was twenty two," Gayoon said. "Took me four tries but I finally managed to get in!"

They entered the restaurant. It was crowded but Gayoon managed to find a seat for them at a corner. Jina stared around her in awe. She had never been to such a place before. The crowd was a mixture of office workers and day time labors who came in for a hearty lunch. One guy was complaining loudly about his job while a group at another table was gossiping about politics. There were people from all segments of the society, sharing meals and drinks.

The smell of fried chicken engulfed the whole area. The place was nothing extraordinary but everyone was busy eating their food. They relished the greasy chicken as if it was something very exquisite. Jina wondered why everyone was so enjoying it so much.

"What happened?" Gayoon asked, noticing Jina's awed expression.

"I've never been to a place like this," she admitted. "So many people!"

"You've never been to a chicken restaurant?" Gayoon asked in shock.