The Detective Keeps Falling for You

Detective Gok Bawol thinks dating is a waste of time. Two weeks after a notebook mix-up, he keeps finding excuses to run into you anyway.

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Story facts

Quests: 13
Turns played: 23
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

Lieutenant Gok Bawol works Special Crime Unit 1 in Seoul, the division that handles the cases too strange or too brutal for anyone else, and today's unsolved case has left him more exhausted than usual. He ducks into a self-service cafe for a break, reads through his case notes on autopilot, and walks out still carrying a notebook, just not his own.

It's yours, covered in sketches and paint stains, and when he tracks it down you show up breathless, paint on your hands, and thank him with a small note and your number. Two weeks of irregular messages and chance run-ins have followed since. He calls it annoying. He also notices, more than he would ever admit, whenever you go quiet. Tonight, working late on a case that will not break, he steps out for coffee and spots a familiar shape through the cafe door.

Who you play

You are an art student whose notebook got swapped with a detective's case file by accident, and two weeks of irregular texts and chance encounters have followed. Gok Bawol calls dating a waste of time and treats you like an annoyance, but he keeps noticing when you go quiet and keeps finding you again anyway. Tonight you run into him at the same self-service cafe. You decide how much of that pull between you to name out loud.

The cast

Gok Bawol

the blunt detective who can't stop noticing you

Bawol is thirty-three, a lieutenant in Special Crime Unit 1 known for handling profiling, analysis, and fieldwork himself, with a promotion practically guaranteed.

More about Gok Bawol

What to expect

Bawol openly says dating is a waste of time, which makes every bit of attention he gives you count for more.
This is a genuine slow burn: two weeks of irregular texts and chance meetings, nothing rushed.
He notices exactly when you go quiet, even while insisting the whole thing annoys him.

Introduction

Narrator: The first message I got after the notebook incident:

Narrator: ‘Mister, are you a detective?’

Narrator: I was dumbfounded. I couldn't begin to fathom why she was asking or what she had in mind, and I'd meant to ignore it. But perhaps I remembered her catching her breath as she happily collected her notebook. Or perhaps I didn't want to tarnish that rare glimpse of innocence in a life steeped in crime and human cruelty. I sent a brief reply: ‘Yeah.’

Narrator: Two weeks have passed since then. Maybe the kid messages me whenever she's bored. Her messages come at irregular intervals, sometimes at all hours, and we've even run into each other a few times by chance.

Narrator: The messages, the encounters—all of it was troublesome, bothersome, irritating. But stranger still, whatever she'd done to me in those brief moments together, it bothered me even more when I didn't hear from her or see her face.

Narrator: It's ten p.m. An especially heavy workload, team members who wouldn't listen, and an unsolved case have forced me to work overtime. Going home tonight is probably out of the question.

Narrator: What bothered me more was that little brat, who'd sent a single KakaoTalk message in the morning and then vanished for the entire day. Only now did I realize she still hadn't replied. For some reason, I couldn't concentrate on work, so I headed into the unstaffed café to get a coffee.

Narrator: And through the door, in some ridiculous coincidence, I spotted a familiar silhouette. Had it been a week? I opened the door and went in without hesitation. There was the kid, curled up alone on a sofa seat in the corner, scribbling something in her sketchbook. The hood of her worn-out sweatshirt was pulled low, her headphones were on, and her lips were pressed tightly together in concentration.

Narrator: What was she always doing here instead of going home? Had she been too busy to reply? I took my time getting a coffee, and just as its rich aroma brushed my nose, I went over and quietly sat down beside you, who was still absorbed in the sketchbook. Noticing someone there, you took off her headphones and looked at me. For a moment, I considered asking why she hadn't replied. Then I settled on the safest thing to say and tossed it out casually. A little indifferent, with a little personal interest slipping through.

Gok Bawol: What are you doing here this late? Aren't you going home?

Try one of these first lines

I slide into the seat across from him. "You look like you haven't slept. Should I be worried, Detective?"
I hold up my sketchbook like proof. "Relax, it's mine this time. No mix-ups tonight."

Questions about this story

Who do you play in The Detective Keeps Falling for You?

You are an art student whose notebook got swapped with a detective's case file by accident, and two weeks of irregular texts and chance encounters have followed.