Dawn brings a sunlight crown, smiling upward at the black heavens, feeling how the passing night welcomes her more with each minute and hour.

Jun-ho and Y/n had slept restlessly for two hours and as the first rays of sunshine peeked through Y/n's window the two of them began their preparation for the day. They crept out of the room and attempted to leave the house undetected, but as they entered the kitchen they saw Y/n's brother and father waiting for them.

Jun-ho checked his watch. It was barely five in the morning. He gave Chan-yeol and Ha-kun questioning glances.

"We should get going" said Y/n as she grabbed her coat, but Ha-kun pulled her by the forearm and sat her down at the small morning table.

"Eat and then you may leave" said her father in an authoritative tone.

"You made breakfast already?" asked Y/n slightly alarmed. "But–"

"I know you both better than you think. Of course you would leave as soon as you could. Every bone in your bodies is filled with righteousness. But those bones need nourishment. So eat" added Chan-yeol smiling slightly. He pushed two plates of eggs and toast toward the officers.

"How about I strike a deal?" muttered Y/n standing up. She pulled out two containers. She dumped the eggs into the containers and held her toast in her free hand. "We will take the breakfast with us and we will eat on the way."

Y/n handed Jun-ho his container and jogged out the door before anyone could object.

"But you didn't tell us anything about the mission!" called Ha-kun behind the couple. "I think I deserve to know–"

Chan-yeol placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "She's not ready yet. As her family, we can wait until the time comes."

.....

Jun-ho and Y/n had finished their breakfast and now took long strides towards the police station. The minute they entered, a buzz of conversation started.

The chief was rushing towards them. He pulled the two of them into his office.

"Where have you two been?" he demanded. "No leave of absence. No warning. Nothing. My two best case solvers gone for an entire week and I had no idea what they were up to. Explain yourselves."

"We found out more about the games that the one citizen was talking about" began Jun-ho. "Gi-hun? He came about a week and a half ago. And we found so many things. I sent you a lot of the evidence?"

"Evidence?" questioned the chief. "What evidence?"

Jun-ho gave the man a questioning look. "Before my phone got damaged I sent you pictures and videos proving the existence of the Squid Games."

"Squid Games? What is this nonsense? I have no evidence."

Jun-ho glanced at Y/n desperately. His phone had fallen into the water when he got shot, but Y/n's phone was still perfectly fine. She didn't have most of the evidence though.

Y/n pulled out her phone and showed the chief a video of her and the guard she killed. The guard in his desperate state had revealed his identity as well as limited information about the games.

"What is this supposed to prove?"

"It proves that this game is real. Criminals like him are wandering the area. This man in not innocent. He tried to sexually assault me."

Jun-ho glanced at Y/n. He had been left in the dark about this particular aspect of the mission.

"I killed this man, but men like him are still roaming free. Men like him have killed hundreds of innocent people. Isn't it our duty to bring justice?"

"Okay so bring me these men. I'll prosecute them."

"Sir, there are hundreds of these guards. We need at least fifty trained officers to search around the area for them. These games took place on a remote island."

"So you want me to send out fifty of Korea's most highly trained police officers to search for unidentified criminals in an unidentified area of land?"

Jun-ho and Y/n remained quiet.

"The only crime you can prove to me is sexual assault, A-Yeong. You have not proven murder yet. I cannot send out such a large number for mere sexual assault. Now stop wasting my time and get back to work!"

Jun-ho and Y/n knew it was worthless to argue any further. They turned on their heels and walked slowly back to their stations.

.....

Chan-yeol was going to do laundry. He knew Y/n would manage her own things, but his daughter had been working so hard recently. He could do her a small favor.

He made his way into her room. He picked up the clothes that she came back from the mission in. As he reached for the thin shirt he noticed a small card laying on the floor.

The laundry basket slipped from Chan-yeol's fingers as his long fingers traced the three shapes on the card.

He rushed downstairs in a hurry and threw the little card into the garbage can. He leaned against the countertop as he tried his best to steady his breathing.

He desperately hoped that Y/n hadn't found herself in the middle of those games.

....

"Why didn't you tell me that the guard you killed tried to touch you?" asked Jun-ho his voice rising slightly.

He was driving back towards Y/n's home from the station. Y/n was sitting in the passenger's seat quietly as she fidgeted with the buttons of her coat.

"What would you have done? I already killed him" muttered Y/n a defiant look in her eyes.

Jun-ho didn't have a good answer to that question. The thought that another man had tried to touch his Y/n made his blood boil. His hands clenched around the wheel as Y/n told him about the entire encounter.

His face remained stony and furious for almost the entirety of the ride. When Y/n mentioned how she kicked the guard, Jun-ho couldn't hide the slight upwards twitch of his mouth.

When Y/n finished her story, she glanced downwards at her lap. Jun-ho took one hand of the wheel and tilted her face towards him with his index finger.

"I'm just glad you're okay" he whispered genuinely. "You will never go through something like that again, I promise. I'll be by your side for everything, Y/n."

"Everything?" asked Y/n searching his dark eyes for a hint of lie.

Jun-ho smiled slightly and nodded. "If you'll let me that is"

Y/n grinned before turning to look out the window. Jun-ho pretended not to notice a sweet pink color dusting her cheeks.

"Can we get ice-cream?" asked Y/n smiling widely.

"Y/n, I'm hungry!" whined Jun-ho.

"I'm sure Appa and Ha-kun would love some, Jun" sang Y/n. "You wouldn't want to get on my Appa's bad side by not buying ice cream right? He might even reject our relationship because you didn't buy ice cream. You wouldn't want that, would you?" asked Y/n raising her eyebrows in an accusatory manner.

Jun-ho shook his head and smiled as he turned the car towards the closest ice cream shop.

....

Ha-kun was annoyed. He hated taking out the trash. As she reached to gather up the bag, he noticed a peculiar card. There was no way this was his father's.

"Y/n!" called Ha-kun. "What is this thing?"

As Y/n rushed down the stairs, Chan-yeol came to see the reason of the commotion.

"What is it?" came Y/n's annoyed voice as she reached the kitchen.

"This card" said Ha-kun pointing inside the garbage can. "Is it a new business card or something? Very vague about its advertising. Really horrible marketing strategy."

"It's just a business card, Ha-kun" began Chan-yeol hastily. "Why make such a fuss. Go take out the garbage."

"No wait, I'll take that card" muttered Y/n. "Wonder how it got in there"

"Y/n, it's just a card. Why do you need it?" tried Chan-yeol his heart thumping wildly in his chest.

"It's part of the mission, Appa" replied Y/n smoothly.

Chan-yeol stopped breathing for a second. His eyes widened and his hands started to sweat with fear. His daughter couldn't find out. Not now. Not ever.

.....

It had been a week since the encounter with the Chief. Jun-ho and Y/n had solved minor cases, but they remained constantly on the lookout for any news about the games.

Y/n's mind had been running a thousand different thoughts per minute recently.

A part of her mind focused on the fact that the Squid Game card had been in her trash can. As far as she knew, Jun-ho nor Y/n had thrown that card away. Which meant that someone in her own house knew about the games, but Y/n couldn't be sure about anything.

Another part of the mind kept revolving around the fact that the games were over. Unless something revolutionary had happened, 455 people were dead and one person was roaming around the world with crippling survivors' guilt. She knew that the key to figuring out the game was finding that one person. But Y/n was no closer to finding that person than she was to having the ability to fly.

The last part of her mind kept reminding her of the promise she made to Sae-byeok. If the 1/16 chance had ended up favorable, then Sae-byeok was the one person who Y/n was searching for. But how would Y/n know if she had made it out alive or not?

Y/n knew that sooner or later she would have to visit the orphanage. She would have to fulfill the promise she made to Sae-byeok. Y/n hoped that player 067 would be with her young brother when the detective went. All she could do was hope.

The day at the station was long. 

Jun-ho and Y/n were both distracted, but as the golden orb of the sun began to kiss the horizon, the both of them were the first to pack up and jog out the door.

It wasn't that they had anywhere to be. They just wanted to get away from the pressuring environment of the police station.

 They walked through the usual evening crowd in silence.

Jun-ho had read somewhere that beauty could only be a moment in time that captures the heart and that there are so many ways to achieve these emotional sparks.

Jun-ho had never felt these emotional sparks before. He always thought that beauty related to physical attributes, but as he glanced at the pink glow of dusk illuminating Y/n's face, he knew beauty came from the soul.

He knew now that beauty was the casual smile that usually rested on the woman's face. Beauty was that air of confidence that radiated off of her every breath. She was a beautiful woman because she shone from the depths of her soul.

Jun-ho reached for one of her hands that rested by her sides as she strode on. She stopped to glance at him, but Jun-ho continued on. He swung their hands slightly and Y/n's face brightened up with a slight grin.

The duo walked in comfortable silence as they turned a corner. Y/n walked on absorbed in her own world of thoughts, but Jun-ho stopped abruptly to glance at the man leaning against the stone wall.

He pulled Y/n back slightly so that she twirled softly into his arms. She straightened up and gave him a curious glance. She traced his line of vision until she too stared transfixed at the man.

Jun-ho couldn't see the man's face, but the faded clothes, grimy cap, and long tangled hair seemed suspiciously familiar. It seemed that the officers had found their link to the games once again. 

{1923}