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Suitcase rolling behind her and duffel bag slung over her shoulder, Hani follows Seokga through his apartment's ebony doors, trying not to let her eyes widen in awe as she takes in the god's residence. The floor is an expertly polished glossy black marble, which is partially covered by a plush white rug that stretches out underneath a large beige-colored couch adorned with various throw pillows and situated before an elegant coffee table.

Around the corner of a set of twisting wrought-iron stairs leading to another level, a large kitchen is visible, complete with an island in the same black stone as the floor and mahogany cabinets undoubtedly brimming with gourmet foods. The skyline of New Sinsi shines through the large glass panels of the back window wall, colorful lights twinkling and flashing against the inky night. Seokga's apartment is nothing short of luxurious; Hani closes her dropped jaw with notable difficulty, aware that Seokga is watching her reaction carefully. Curiously. Hopefully. As if he wants her to like his home. Something tugs on her heartstrings.

"Well," she says, turning to face him. "You certainly have an affinity for interior design."

Before coming here, Seokga drove to her apartment. While he waited outside her "hovel," she stuffed some more clean clothes and a few of her favorite romance books into a new suitcase. And something else. Something that she definitely shouldn't have grabbed, something that had been hidden deep within the bowels of her underwear drawer, concealed by lacy thongs.

Seokga shrugs, a lazy, cool gesture—but there's no masking the glitter of pleased self-satisfaction in his gaze. He's had the air of a very pleased god ever since they left the stakeout. Hani doesn't quite know what to make of it, although she suspects that she has the air of a very pleased gumiho.

The stakeout yielded nothing—well, that's not true. The stakeout yielded something very pleasurable, but nothing in terms of the eoduksini case. So they've moved on to their next plan: Drawing the eoduksini out. Making it come to them.

Shim would never approve. He's too reliant on protocol, on precinct procedure. Which is why they're not going to tell him until they succeed in taking down Dok-hyun.

But first, rest. She can tell Seokga is still drained from the events on Geoje. He needs to recuperate. When he suggested that they stay together to plan their trap, Hani was both surprised and pleased.

And guilty.

Seokga, for all their bickering, likes her. The gumiho he's meant to kill. Hani tries not to dwell on it. The focus is on the eoduksini, on saving Iseung from being turned into a Dark World. Hani has always been somewhat of a procrastinator, and she is all too happy to procrastinate dwelling on her and Seokga's potential fallout.

"Our room is upstairs," he says, gesturing to the curving black staircase. "Down the corridor and to the right."

"I'm sorry," Hani says, quirking her lips, "did you say, our room?"

She's amazed to see a slight flush darken Seokga's cheeks. He clears his throat once, and then twice. "No," he grumbles, and Hani snorts.

"You did."

Seokga's eyes narrow. "Do you enjoy torturing me?"

Hani runs her tongue along her teeth. "Yes."

The trickster god points at her. "Just for that," he says, "you're taking the guest room." It doesn't escape Hani's notice, though, that the acidity in his voice is less, well, acidic than usual. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she stuck her hand down his pants and kissed the shit out of him.

Hani shrugs. In all truth, she doesn't think they'll sleep a wink if they share a bed tonight, and Seokga needs to rest. And besides, this new…reluctant friendship/enthusiastic hookup thing…she has with Seokga feels dangerous. She knows she'll get burned if she plays with fire, and what she felt with Seokga in the car is like a flame—precarious, dangerous, and hot. Hani stares at him, admiring his emerald eyes, his silky black hair, the way his mouth is usually a tight line but has begun to soften around her. Yes—very, very hot.

"Hani?" The god is frowning. "Hani?"

She snaps out of it with a jolt. "What?" Hani asks, embarrassed at being caught.

Seokga smirks. "I said, ‘Be careful.' I suspect that the eoduksini will eventually haunt my dreams, and I wouldn't put it past it to target you, as well. You've been integral to the case, and it might hurt you just to fuck with me."

Hani grins despite herself. For some reason, Seokga's admission that she's become important enough to him to warrant the eoduksini's wrath feels…well, less frightening than it ought to. "Integral?" she purrs.

"Don't let it go to your head," he warns.

"Too late," she replies, rolling her suitcase over to the stairwell. "Down the hall and to the right?" she calls over her shoulder as she mounts the stairs, the rungs chiming slightly underneath her feet.

"The left," Seokga corrects. "The one on the right is mine."

"Mm." Hani tosses him a smile.

As he rolls his eyes, the ludicrousness of it all slowly sinks in to Hani. She is in Seokga's apartment, preparing to settle in as his roommate. This is absurd. Utterly insane.

Roommates.

Hani makes her way up the stairs and down the corridor, eyeing the various paintings in ornate frames hung on the wall. Seokga lives in luxury—she supposes that he was wise with the concept of credit when it first emerged. We can't all be perfect, she reminds herself.

She follows his directions, pausing at the door to the left. But she eyes Seokga's door across from hers curiously, wondering what lays behind it.

A tiny peek won't hurt.

Hani turns the doorknob of Seokga's bedroom, peeping inside through the sliver of open door. The room is dark, but she can just vaguely make out a large bed, a teeming bookshelf, a—

"What are you doing?" Seokga's voice demands (rather huskily, she thinks) from behind her, and Hani whirls around with an innocent smile. The god frowns, but he doesn't look too upset at the thought of her in his bedroom. "I said last door to the left."

"Oopsies," Hani replies brightly, quickly sidestepping him and opening the door to the guest room.

The bedroom is large and expansive, a gloriously huge bed situated with a terrific view through another window wall overlooking the sprawl of New Sinsi. A polished black dresser sits just below a gilded mirror, a vase of flowers set on the dark wood. There is an adjoining bathroom, complete with a large, claw-foot bathtub as well as a shower. Hani's brows raise. Perhaps Seokga will allow her to live here forever.

"Try not to break anything," says Seokga wryly, leaning in the doorway. "I'll charge it to your tab if you do."

Hani rolls her eyes, plops her suitcase onto the edge of her bed, and unzips it. It's followed by the duffel. "Isn't it past your bedtime?" she asks as she begins to unpack the duffel. From it, Hani takes out the sensible clothes she had brought with her to Geoje before reaching for the suitcase and the slightly less sensible clothes she'd nabbed from her apartment. Lingerie and skimpy dresses included.

Seokga's eyes narrow, but he steps into the hall. "Scream if you're being murdered by the eoduksini."

"I have no doubt that I will." Hani watches in amusement as Seokga's lips twitch. "Good night."

"Good night," Seokga replies—softer than she's ever heard him—and gently shuts her door.

Hani sighs as she places her clothes in the dresser.

Judging from their escapade in the car, it is safe to say that she and Seokga are no longer sworn enemies. But what are they? Friends? Friends who sometimes stick their hands down each other's pants? Are they just a casual hookup? Are they…Could they be something more? Are they going to kiss again? Hani hopes they kiss again. Seokga is deliciously good at kissing. She knew it on the mountain, but the kiss tonight stunned her. If Shim hadn't interrupted them, Hani suspects they would have gone much, much further than they did.

She shakes her head as she riffles through her mound of socks. In a matter of days, her life has become significantly more complicated.

Her fingers brush against sharp metal, and Hani straightens. Right. The daggers.

It is probably beyond foolish of her to have brought her scarlet daggers to Seokga's apartment, considering that he is set upon killing the Scarlet Fox, but…if the eoduksini attacks her here, the scarlet daggers are her most trusted weapons. She has no doubt that with them in hand, she can make the kill. She doesn't trust the silver ones as she does her scarlet blades. But where to hide them? Hani's eyes land on the dresser. Perfect. She'll hide them in an underwear drawer again.

Hani shoves the knives under a pile of lingerie and shuts the drawer quickly, her heart beating rapidly. But Seokga's room is silent—perhaps the god has indeed already gone to bed. Old men, after all, do tend to go to sleep early. She can only hope that the eoduksini does not take advantage of that little fact.

She climbs into bed, nestling deep within the soft blankets and staring at New Sinsi through the glass windows sparkling with multicolored lights. This bed is much more comfortable than the one at the Lotus Hotel, but…Hani sighs, wishing for the comfort of Seokga's warmth.

She wonders if he, across the hall, is wishing the same.