The Arrest Operation on Moving Day

After finishing breakfast with unnie and getting fully dressed, we each packed our simple belongings into bags and met Mr. Minsu.

"Are you all ready?"

"Yes, we're all ready."

Mr. Minsu and I looked over the belongings we had organized.

"You've done a good job organizing everything. At this rate, we should be able to move it all before it gets too late."

"Because it's close by."

Unnie answered Mr. Minsu. The house we were moving to really was quite close, and although it was called a move, all we needed was a house where Jia and I could live together, so I felt sorry about going too far away.

"We're all ready on our end."

The moving-company employees had arrived and were preparing to work.

"Yes, please take good care of us."

At Mr. Minsu's words, the employees moved in perfect coordination. I could feel some of them stealing glances at me, but honestly, it couldn't be helped, so I didn't pay attention. Just as soup needs its seasoning packet when you boil ramen, it was something like a law of nature that your eyes would be drawn to a large chest when one appeared as you walked down the street.

'Mr. Minsu doesn't seem to think that way, though...'

When Mr. Minsu gave the employees a pointed look, they belatedly turned their eyes away and focused on their work. 'I'm really fine with it...' But unnie would worry too, so I decided to thank Mr. Minsu.

"Please take good care of us~"

Watching them begin working while keeping an eye on Mr. Minsu, I dipped my head slightly and gave them a small smile. The atmosphere definitely seemed to improve.

"Aww, our Jia is so polite and well-behaved~"

As unnie warmly stroked my head, we left the house for a while.

"But unnie, where are we going now?"

"The move probably won't be finished until tonight, so shall we go shopping and have some fun until then?"

"Yes, sounds good."

Come to think of it, today was Monday... She must have taken a day off because of the move. Mr. Minsu looked busy, so unnie and I quietly left the house and headed for a department store.

*

After Jia and Jiyeon went outside and I gave the employees a few instructions, I stepped outside the house and answered a phone call.

"Yes, I'm listening."

[You know those guys I mentioned last time? They look likely to get prison time, but it seems there are more of them.]

"Given how easily they got out last time, they obviously have someone backing them. Where are they?"

[They're in a building in OOO. They probably have a restaurant on the first floor and are hiding on the second.]

"Understood. I'll coordinate with the police and go there soon."

[No, no. Leave that to the police. I don't know the person's name, but I think you should protect that person.]

"Are they targeting that person?"

[Most likely... They probably think this happened because they went after that person. They may try to get revenge...]

"......Understood."

My teeth ground together. Those bastards still hadn't come to their senses and were trying to go after Ms. Jia again. I had suspected they had someone backing them after seeing them get out of prison so quickly last time, but what the hell was behind them that made them act so recklessly? I needed to tell Ms. Jiyeon too.

'Ms. Jiyeon, it seems those guys from last time are targeting Ms. Jia, so please be careful. I'll quietly assign some security personnel to you.'

'Thank you. Please take care of yourself too, Mr. Minsu.'

After reading Ms. Jiyeon's reply, I immediately contacted the security team.

[Senior Minsu! What happened?]

"I need security personnel. Quietly, right now, to OOO Department Store."

[Huh? Oh, understood. I'll send them right away.]

My junior complied with my request without asking any questions. He seemed a little flustered, probably because I rarely asked for support. Please don't let them be too late...

*

I was extremely surprised when I heard from Mr. Minsu. It seemed that there were more criminals targeting Jia, not just the ones we had dealt with before. 'Is this some kind of if-I-can't-have-her-I'll-destroy-her mentality...? They could simply give up and go to prison, but these people are seriously disturbed.'

"Jia, shall we buy a few more clothes?"

"Yes, sounds good."

Since clothes in Jia's size were sometimes unavailable, it was difficult to find outfits that both suited her taste and fit her properly, so I bought her a few whenever we found some. I still couldn't see where Mr. Minsu was, but he was always watching over us so dependably that he must have taken care of something.

"Wow, this outfit is pretty too, unnie."

"It really is. Try it on, Jia."

No matter how difficult things became, I wouldn't let a girl who maintained such a bright smile suffer through that kind of pain again. It shouldn't happen on the happy day we were moving into a new home. Since Dr. Seo's consideration had allowed me to rest through tomorrow, I should invite some acquaintances over so Jia could experience a housewarming party too.

Just then, the atmosphere around us began to grow tense. It seemed that the security personnel Mr. Minsu had sent and the criminals had begun facing off. 'Jia will feel sorry if she notices, so I should draw her attention elsewhere.'

"Jia, shall we go get some lunch soon?"

"I don't think I can eat much... What should we have?"

I envied Jia, who didn't seem to gain weight no matter how much she ate, whether it was because she ate so little or because of her constitution. She didn't exercise separately, and you would think eating that way would show somewhere, but it didn't. Did all the calories get used up because her body was so weak? It was a mystery I couldn't explain.

'I brought her somewhere a little cheaper because I was worried Jia might feel burdened, but the menu isn't very diverse.'

Jia looked around for a moment before ordering beef bibimbap, while I needed some warm broth, so I ordered radish soup. I needed to soothe my burning throat with the broth.

"It's been a while since I had store-bought bibimbap. This is nice."

"Really? If you need some broth, you can have mine too."

"Really?"

After saying that, Jia took a spoonful of the radish soup and smiled as if she liked it. Had Jia already noticed too...? There was a fierce standoff going on in the distance, with sparks flying, so I was a little worried. While watching Jia eat her bibimbap, I checked my phone and found several messages from Mr. Minsu.

'We're currently herding them together. Once you finish eating, please go to the restroom; we'll arrest them all in the meantime. We've also obtained the department store's cooperation, so there won't be a problem.'

I replied that I understood, then was a little surprised. Quite a lot of people had been deployed to protect Jia... Though I suppose they were really there to arrest the notorious violent criminals rather than protect her.

"That was delicious. I'm too full to eat any more."

"You ate this much, so that's plenty. You could have left more if it was difficult to finish."

"I think I was trying to eat it out of habit...?"

"Shall we go to the restroom?"

As Mr. Minsu had instructed, I took Jia's hand and headed for the restroom. Jia looked a little embarrassed about going to the bathroom together, but she agreed when I said, 'It won't hurt to empty your bladder beforehand, so let's stop by.' I could only hope that Jia wouldn't notice the commotion while we were in the restroom.

*

Just then, Ms. Jiyeon, who had received my message, finished her meal and entered the restroom with Jia. The wanted criminals were also starting to edge toward the restroom, so it was time to begin.

"Team One, block anyone who tries to slip away through the side passage beside the restroom. Team Two, block the escape route. Team Three, send two people to block the way to the women's restroom, and have everyone else move in for the arrests."

We had informed the police in advance and obtained the department store's cooperation, so there were no other customers near the restrooms on the food-court floor. Since they were tucked away in a corner, even the employees probably wouldn't know what was happening. They would likely just think it was a little noisy and move on.

"What the fuck! Who are these bastards?!"

"You're wanted criminals. Come quietly."

They tried to resist, but once they were surrounded with their escape routes blocked, they had no choice but to be restrained. The higher-ups had suffered plenty of damage at their hands too, so this time they had decided to send them away for good. There would be no chance for them to escape alive.

"The arrests are all done, right? Six of you go with the police and keep watch over them. The rest of you, wrap things up."

"Excuse me, senior."

"What?"

"You seem more rushed than usual. Is something wrong?"

...I didn't answer my junior's question. I simply patted him on the shoulder and told him he had done well.

"Don't ask any more questions."

Had I scowled too much? My junior fell as silent as a mouse after looking at me. The team withdrew quickly, and I sent Ms. Jiyeon a message.

'It's all finished now. You can come out. All the personnel have withdrawn.'

'Thank you, Mr. Minsu. Fortunately, Jia doesn't seem to have noticed.'

'I'll go check on the move now.'

After receiving Ms. Jiyeon's thanks, I headed to the house where the move was underway. Fortunately, everything seemed to be going smoothly. The moving-company employees were only handling the heavy furniture, while the rest were people I had called in, so they would take care of every detail more thoroughly.

"None of you have eaten lunch yet, right?"

"Not yet."

"Are the people over there eating separately?"

"Yes, they said they're just going to get gukbap."

"I'll treat us. Do you like burgers?"

"It would be hard to find someone who doesn't."

"Exactly. I'll go pick up some burgers. Just receive the pizza when it arrives later."

"Thanks, senior."

I didn't often ask them for favors, but I was grateful to my juniors for helping whenever I occasionally did. Even when they accomplished major things, their line of work received no public recognition, so I was grateful that they all worked so hard.

*

It was moving day, so we had to stay out of the house for a long time, but I was still happy because I was with unnie. After buying a few comfortable outfits, eating lunch with her, and spending some time together, I began wondering how we would kill time until evening. I hadn't gone out for fun much before, so I didn't know what to do besides entertain myself. I didn't have any games I played seriously enough to visit a PC café for either... I wanted unnie to have fun too, but what should we do?

"Our Jia, do you have something on your mind?"

"Huh? Oh, no."

"Don't say that. It's written all over your face: 'How am I going to kill time?'"

"Is it really that obvious?"

It had been like this before, but as my complexion brightened, I found it even harder to control my expressions. Whenever I was worried or something bad happened, it felt as if the darkness on my face became more obvious. I thought I had been managing it fairly well, but unnie saw right through me.

"Then... shall we watch a movie and go to a karaoke room?"

"I can't sing very well... and I don't know many songs..."

This was bad. I barely knew any songs... I hadn't often met up with friends and had spent my school years watching anime alone at home, so I only knew a few anime songs. If I sang those, wouldn't unnie look at me with contempt? Unnie was outgoing, with a personality and speaking skills that made her seem like a total social butterfly, while I was the opposite...

"Don't worry, Jia. Let's watch an action movie this time."

"Yes, thank you for considering me."

Seeing unnie give me such a bright smile while trying to accommodate me, I couldn't bring myself to say, 'I don't want to go...' Besides, where else could we kill time if not at a movie theater or karaoke room? A comic-book café? That might be nice too. In any case, when we arrived at the theater, we stood in front of the kiosk and booked a movie.

"How about this one? It's popular among action movies."

"You're right. I like it."

I had already seen the movie once, but I hadn't watched it in a theater, so I thought it might feel different on the big screen. 'If unnie finds out I'm watching a movie I've already seen, she'll worry about me... I should pretend it's my first time.'

"Do you want some popcorn?"

"I ate a lot at lunch, so I'm fine."

Normally, popcorn and a drink went hand in hand, but the movie was over two hours long, so if I drank anything, I would obviously be going back and forth to the restroom. That would be a little troublesome, so I decided not to have popcorn. Besides, I was too full to eat it anyway.

-After the movie ended-

"What did you think? Was it fun?"

"Yes, it was a decent movie. But it was so long that my body feels stiff."

"Then instead of karaoke... shall we go to a comic-book café?"

!!! Was unnie reading my mind? I had been reluctant to go to karaoke and was wondering whether I should try a comic-book café, even though I had never been to one... But who could really read someone else's mind? Hahaha...

"Your lower back must hurt a lot. I'll give you a massage there too."

Although the movie had ended and the credits were rolling, unnie was more worried about my back than about the post-credits scene and immediately suggested that we go to a comic-book café. After taking a bus and entering a comic-book café for the first time in my life, I was a little surprised because it was somewhat similar to the public library I had visited to earn university volunteer hours. 'The library had separate spaces where you could lie down and spots where you could watch borrowed DVDs too...' I guess libraries were adapting to modern trends as well.

"This comic looks fun. What do you want to read, Jia?"

"I'll read this one."

Although I recognized a few titles, I had the strange thought that I should choose a comic I had never seen before to look like a normal person. I lay down in a spot where I could lie beside unnie and received a massage.

"That feels good, right? Your lower back is knotted too, not just your shoulders."

"Yeees... Your hands feel so good, unnie..."

"Here?"

When unnie pressed down on a knotted spot, I covered my mouth because I thought another strange moan might escape, but it only made the moan sound even more suggestive, which was more embarrassing... Fortunately, there weren't many people there before the weekday rush hour. I stubbornly fought off the drowsiness brought on by unnie's incredibly soothing massage while reading a comic, and then my memory cut out.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Mmm... I was sleeping...?"

"You were sleeping so deeply that I kept massaging you. You looked like you were enjoying it."

"I wasn't too noisy, was I?"

"Jia sleeps quietly, and your breathing was so cute while you slept that I didn't wake you."

"You must be tired too, unnie, but thank you for the massage."

I felt embarrassed again, but knowing that unnie had kept massaging me, I could feel that my back and shoulders had loosened, so I bowed and thanked her. Getting my head patted as she said, 'Our Jia is such a good girl~' was an added bonus.