The time came around again when you had to go out and stock up on groceries for the home. Your mother had been the one to ask you seeing as you had more free time on your hands with Yeosang and Seonghwa taking over some of the chores that only you and your parents were able to tend to. So now it was that time in the week where she would give you a list to go out to the weekend market to get things for the family.

"Would you like someone to accompany you?" Your sister had asked you before you left the lobby.

"No." You shook your head. "I should be fine." You gave her smile to calm her a bit.

You knew by the face she pulled she sometimes worried about the gangs that the men at the bar would bring up. While it was the middle of the day and it was rare for outlaws to come in, she was still your sister. However for you, you knew you had nothing to worry about when it came to this so-called gang.

"I'll accompany you." A male's voice rang out. Jongho was buttoning up his vest, the metal deputy star on his chest on display as he walked closer. "I was heading out anyways."

"Thank you, Jongho." You told him with a smile, eyes almost closing from how wide your lips stretched.

"Give me a moment to get my things." He turned back around towards the hallway, moving out of sight.

"What are you doing?" Your sister's question made you turn to her. She was looking at you with a scrunched up face, almost as if she was looking at a completely different person.

"What do you mean?" You asked.

"I thought dad told you to butter Yeosang up." She proclaimed. "Also you have never talked to a man and suddenly you have three claiming to be your friend and wanting to take you out. What are you doing?" She repeated.

"Nothing." You frowned. "I swear."

She had raised her eyebrows, her face showing that she wasn't one to be fooled by what you said. You knew she was suspicious already since the day she found you in the deputies room, but the way she was looking at you now made you feel icky.

"Don't look at me like that." You shook your head.

"I don't want others to think things of you, (Y/N)." She sighed.

Your shoulders slumped when you realized what it was she was talking about. You knew what they said about the women who didn't marry by a certain age or saw them with men all the time. They were often talked about by the other ladies, criticized for living the way they wanted. You never spoke to one of those kinds of women, but you oftentimes did wonder why it was they reached that point.

However, hearing it from your own sister that she was worried others would see you the same way meant that she was thinking it. It bothered you, but you knew she didn't mean any harm by it.

"And if they do, that's on them." You shook your head. "My business is my business. I'm not roped down to anyone but myself."

"Ready." Jongho stopped the conversation, giving you sister a nod of his head.

You gave her a weak smile from over your shoulders, turning around to follow after the policeman. Like last time, he allowed you to walk out the door first, following in your steps at your side. Once more you took notice of the manners he had, moving you to the other side of the sidewalk. He took up the one where the carriages passed and the occasional vehicle.

If he noticed your stare on him on the way to the market he didn't ask you about it. But after a bit you realized you were looking for too long so you decided to start up a conversation.

"I've noticed you and Yunho have been going out more." You spoke to him. "How is Cromer?"

"It's a lot smaller than we're used to for sure." He answered, keeping his eyes around his surroundings. "It has things that get us by though. Can't complain." He shrugged.

"Obviously." You snorted. "The townsfolk need to survive. It's still growing so maybe one day it'll be a big city like you enjoy." You grinned up at him. "Maybe when you retire."

"I'll consider it." He tried to fight off the smile. "I don't know what I'll do the day I get old and can't move."

"You guys will rob the rich with walking sticks." You laughed out loud. This got him to chuckle as well, looking down to the ground to avoid your stare.

The bright metal of the deputy star on his vest caught your attention. It began to create questions in your head that you wanted to ask. But you knew better. They weren't people who associated themselves with citizens. They weren't going to answer questions you might have had. But that doesn't stop you from trying. You always did have a mouth.

"I don't know if I'm allowed to ask but why are you doing this if you're a police officer? Won't you be tried for treason if you're caught?" You watched him shuffle his feet slowly, almost as though he wasn't expecting your question.

You weren't surprised though. He did give you a weird look when you asked if you were allowed to even ask him that kind of question. He knew you weren't someone who didn't speak their mind however he was quick to notice there was a lot that you kept from asking. He figured it was because you were too scared to ask, in your head they are criminals. After Seonghwa had explained they weren't nasty criminals, maybe you started to open up.

He took a moment to think about his answer. The way he gazed at you made you internally shiver, as though he was sizing you up. You knew it was a personal question, but you wanted to take the chance. You saw how the four who were in close range to you seemed to let their guards down. They were relaxed when speaking with you. Maybe you had taken their friendliness as something akin to trust, and thinking it to yourself, you realized how stupid you sounded.

"There was a heist we did a while ago that caused us to separate." Your eyebrows raised when Jongho began the story."We had to lay low for a year before we got the chance to meet up again. In that time, me and Yunho were put together and we joined the force to keep tabs on the boys easier. We've been there since because you'd be surprised at how much easier it is to get by without people noticing you."

There was a light feeling in your chest that made you smile. You never thought about how much it meant to speak to someone on a level that was closely related to friendship. Girls and boys alike all distanced themselves from you when you had hit adulthood. They didn't really speak much other than what they wanted to.

When it came to your female friends they all thought differently to you and it would cause a rift between you all. With the men, they didn't like that you were too independent so it caused them to find someone who would do what they wanted.

Learning about Jongho and Yunho really made you miss companionship. The trust people had in one another with things about their past or their future endeavors with one another. And judging by the story Jongho gave you the boys were all super close. It almost made you jealous.

"That actually sounds like a smart plan." You nodded your head.

"I'm sure you can come up with some elaborate plans too." Jongho grinned. "The way you think is different."

You rolled your eyes, taking in a deep breath. "Yeah. I know."

Jongho noticed how you seemed to drop your shoulders and looked off to the side. He bumped his shoulders with yours lightly. "I like it."

You paused to look up at him, your face heating up. You had stopped at the entrance of the market, hand gripping tightly onto the bags your mother had given you.

"Wooyoung." Jongho called over your shoulder. You turned around to see the bubbly man skipping his way over to the two of you. He had a bright grin on his face, eyes going over your form.

"Hello, Jongho!" He greeted, coming to stand next to you. From the side you were on, you noticed the mole he had under his eye which only served as a reminder that any blemish the boys had only made them look like heavens creations. You curled your lips, looking off to the side as you felt your face heat up.

Since when have you ever seen a man that good looking? What's more, eight of them? Wow, you just now noticed how lonely you actually were.

"What brings you here?" Jongho furrowed his eyebrows. "Where are the others?"

"It's just me." The man waved Jongho off. "Hongjoong sent me out to find some things for the camp. Besides, it's been a while since I've looked around. I wanna take in the sights." He added with a grin.

"Sweetheart." He licked his lips, giving you a raise of his eyebrows.

"Hi, Wooyoung." You politely told him, soft eyes on him.

The look he got from you caused him to straighten his back, his grin widening. "How's work life going? Must be really nice to get to spend the day with the boys."

"If that's what you think." You laughed.

The three of you began your trek into the market, your eyes glancing over all the produce that was available. You noticed Wooyoung only looked over certain things, not picking them up. But then again, he didn't have a basket for his things. You sighed, thinking to yourself that you would make them bags for their things.

While looking over some vegetables, you felt a presence behind you. Just as you were about to turn around to ask the person to move back, you froze when you noticed Wooyoung had placed his head on your shoulder, his breath hitting the shell of your ear.

You shivered, but turned back to look at the produce. The man squinted his eyes, wrapping his arms around your waist to get closer. When he noticed you weren't going to acknowledge him, he decided he would be the one to make himself known.

"Do I make you nervous?" You heard him whisper in your ear.

"Should you?" You asked quietly, only moving your eyes to look at him at your shoulder.

"Of course not." He quickly pulled back, grinning. "I make most women nervous though." He shrugged, feeling dejected about the new revelation of not having a woman swoon over him.

"She's not like most women." Jongho smirked.

"So you all say." He turned to you, moving some of your hair over your shoulder. "Come see me one day. I'd like to get a show."

"A show of what?" You squint your eyes, jaw locking.

"Don't take his words to heart. It's just the way he talks." Jongho told you.

"Like he's big game?" You asked, keeping an eye on Wooyoung who gave a teasing smile.

"You have no clue." He smirked. "Wait 'till you meet Wooyoung from Aurora."

"He's supposed to be better?" You tilted your head.

"He is insatiable."