After a playful trot down the few steps to the street, Nora stopped and let the luxury car roll a few feet ahead to meet her. She dropped the box behind her and bent down to nod to the congressman.

“Get in,” said Kim.

Nora grinned, “No.”

His hands clenched the steering wheel and his shoulders tensed. Before he could open his mouth to argue, Nora interrupted him.

“Our talk won’t take long, and I’m more comfortable outside of the car. See?”

When she sat down on top of her box, she reached the appropriate height to lean against the open window, her forearms hanging into the cab of the car.

“Nothing personal,” she added, “I’m just cautious.”

The councilman, more annoyed than angry, cut the engine of his car.

The two enemies sat in silence for a moment, collecting their own thoughts. Kim tapped his steering wheel, and Nora pretended to find a beat to it, nodding her head. He stopped. Nora waited for the politician to speak first, insistent of only saying what she needed to say and not provide any unnecessary information to the mix.

Finally, he turned, “What do you know?”

Nora sighed.

“Right to the point? I was expecting something more creative than that.”

Suddenly, she turned her head, as if something caught the corner of her eye. She stared into the dark street, and Kim followed her gaze. He didn’t find anything interesting. It wasn’t important.

“You’re not creative, though,” Nora continued, “Or bright.”

“Did I bail you out of jail so you could insult me?” Kim growled.

“Don’t get too excited. I’m only saying it ‘cause it’s true,” Nora tilted her head, still staring into that dark spot some ways off, “If you were smart, you wouldn’t have hired your opponent’s assistant as your secretary.”

When she finally turned her attention back to the car, she wasn’t surprised to find that the councilman had frozen stiff over his fury. He blinked a few times, and his grip tightened. Nora could hear him trying to piece things together in his mind, but he was struggling.

“You’re saying… Mitchell… he—”

“I was asked to take pictures of a scandal, Mr. Kim,” Nora said, “How do you think news of a scandal got out in the first place?”

She took out her phone and briefly swiped at the screen before turning it to the councilman.

“That’s his number, right?”

On the screen was a screenshot from Mr. Shin detailing Nora’s arrest and the state of the missing pictures.

Kim recognized the number, “What is this?”

“What do you think?”

Despite the confusion and the attempts to deny facts, he knew.

 

[The substation hours before. The detective finished typing and asks if anyone would like coffee, but the congressman and his secretary shake their heads. Daniel gets up and walks past Nora, who makes kissy faces at him. He glares in disgust and she snickers. After he passes, she looks back to the sitting men, and her eyes meet Mitchell’s. He pulls his phone out of his suit pocket and begins to text. Congressman Kim sees this out of the corner of his eye but isn’t observant enough to realize what it means.]

 

Nora recognizes the revelation on Kim’s face. She continues.

“Did you assume it would be easy for me to find your penthouse by myself? You moved out of your family home when your wife and daughter went abroad last month. I can count the number of people who know where you live on my hand.”

Nora lifted a hand and put up fingers one by one. It was an unnerving gesture, as if she personally knew the ones who had that information. She counted another finger on her other hand.

“My bad. With me, that makes two hands.”

Congressman Kim stared.

“But that’s not the point,” Nora waved her sleeve down, “The point is that someone gave me directions to your house.”

He squinted.

“‘What makes you so sure it was Mitchell?’ I’m glad you asked,” Nora said.

He didn’t ask.

“I got past a guard. I knew the passcode to a private, high-security elevator. Did you think I managed that by myself?”

 

[Earlier that night, Mitchell An steps out of a chauffeured car in front of Kim’s penthouse building. He nods politely to the old ladies gathered at their park bench near the entrance and they send back their motherly coos. Before he reaches the guard standing at the door he casually glances over his shoulder, and his gaze meets Nora from her hiding spot.

 

“There she is.”

 

She’s startled. He wasn’t supposed to spot her.

She watches him continue on his way. He greets the guard and says a few words before disappearing through the doors. Nora waits, confused. How did he…? Why is he expecting her? This is supposed to be the most covert of covert operations. The simple gesture and small thought wash a wave of uneasiness over her, but Nora isn’t one to falter when something felt wrong. She swallows her doubt, and after waiting a moment longer she steps out from behind the lamp post and crosses the street.

The gaggle of women recognize her- Nora’s a famous figure in the neighborhood. She greets them politely and asks about their evenings. After the chatter and giggles are out of the way, she bids them farewell and saunters to the front door as naturally as possible. She says good evening to the door guard. Her words are calm, but the thoughts in her head are loud, pulsing, and desperate. Please. Please. Please let me in. Don’t question me and let me in.

 

“This must be the congressman’s guest.”

 

Did she hear his thoughts wrong? A guest? Was Mr. Kim expecting her, too? Sweat starts to collect on the back of her neck, but she’s too nervous to wipe it off. She refuses to give herself away. She smiles. Might as well play this out to the end and see how this goes. She knows to leave the party if it gets too rowdy.

The guard easily lets her in. Whether it’s due to luck or circumstance, she’s too afraid to ask.

Nora makes a beeline to the elevator, but the guard interrupts her. Not that elevator. The other one. To the right. That’s the congressman’s personal elevator. She smiles nervously- of course it’s that elevator! Excuse me, this is my first time here. Yes, yes. Good night to you too. The private elevator opens, and she waves to the guard before it shuts behind her. He waves back. He doesn’t suspect a single thing.

Nora’s heart beats too fast. This is too easy. This isn’t right at all.

Secretly, she hopes to find something that will stop her from going forward. By now, she’s figured that this is some elaborate set-up she’s been sucked into, right? Is Mr. Shin trying to screw her over? Why is Congressman Kim’s secretary involved? How much backstabbing would Nora have to take part in before this night was over? She doesn’t want to think about it. Rather, she wants nothing more than to open these elevator doors and scramble out into the arms of the guard who was too naïve to realize he’d made a mistake. Maybe she still has a chance-

The elevator only has a select choice of buttons. Open, close, emergency, alarm. One up. One down. And overlooking this small collection, a pin pad for a passcode. Nora didn’t know passwords! If the one locking the door wasn’t present, there was no way she’d be able to get in without a key-

And above that, an obnoxiously orange sticky note with four numbers.

Nora frowned.

Yeah, this was definitely a set-up.]

 

“Are you telling me he let you in?” Kim asked.

Nora nodded, “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m glad you’re following along.”

 

[Nora reluctantly enters the code into the pin pad. The elevator moves. She shuts her eyes and gives herself a silent mantra of peace, clutching the camera in her hands. At least now she knows that there’s definitely something worth taking pictures of. This isn’t a guessing game anymore. She wouldn’t have to stake out into the late hours of the night in hopes of a scoop that had no promise of being there.

When the elevator doors finally open, Nora opens her eyes and immediately dodges right, hiding herself from the entrance.

Mitchell An is standing not ten feet away, his back facing her. What?? Nora peeks out and scampers behind a large planter nearby before the elevator doors close ahead of her, and all hopes of being unseen are dashed when it dings to signal its descent back to the lobby. He definitely saw her. He at least heard her arrive. She holds her breath, waiting for him to turn and oust her, but he never does. Instead, he takes a few more steps to the door.

Then, she realizes.

He was waiting for her.]

 

The congressman’s face started to drain of its color. He shifted his body away from Nora, towards the side mirror, and he stared at the stacks of skinny houses on the opposite side of the street. Nora tilted her head, trying to get a good look at his expression, but she gave up just as quickly as she started. His shoulders, scrunched up and close to his neck, was enough to reveal his horror.

“…You were there when he opened the door,” he finally whispered.

Ah. Yes. The image flooded back into her head, and Nora found that she couldn’t quite look at him now. She turned her head away to give him some privacy. The back of her neck felt hot from embarrassment.

“Yeaaaaah.”

The congressman had taken his hands off the wheel, but that was only to bunch them into fists in his lap. His fingernails dug into his palms.

 

[Realizing that Mitchell is catering to Nora’s need for content, she immediately readies her camera. He waits, his head cocked towards her as if he’s listening. When she lets out a small breath, he raises his arm and raps his knuckles on the door confidently. He’s expected. He knows that.

And not a moment later, the door opens. A congressman reveals himself. He’s in an apron- he’s indeed cooking, but is he cooking for one? The way that Mitchell An welcomes himself into the abode says otherwise.

A small smile. A draped arm. The secretary takes a small step forward, then two, until he’s welcomed into the personal space of the politician. He simpers, falls into the embrace of the man in front of him, and as their lips touch the secretary shifts his gaze to the reporter behind the camera. A smirk. Before too much is seen-

The door closes.

Nora’s frozen.

Five seconds pass before she lets out the breath she didn’t know she was holding. The gasp is audible, and it surprises her back into her senses.

What was she expecting? An exchange of secret documents, maybe! Some elaborate, illegal plot that would shake the political sphere, sure! Evidence to a scandal that shouldn’t have Mr. Kim’s name on it, highly likely!

An affair? Not too unbelievable. But an affair with his secretary?

God. What did she just see? What the heck was she invited to?

Surprises still come to a girl who can hear others’ thoughts. It’s a revelation that always throws her off track. Nora looks around even though there’s not much to look at. Wall. Hallway. Plant. Elevator. Emergency exit. Fire extinguisher. No, listing objects isn’t helping. She doesn’t know what to do with her hands. She wants to jump up and scream but she’s too scared to.

This isn’t what she was expecting to see this Tuesday evening. A congressman running for senator cheating on his wife with his secretary? His male secretary? His much younger secretary? His secretary that coerced him into an affair and called the grittiest tabloid in town to throw him under the bus??She almost felt bad for the politician. He at least deserved a better paper for his scandalous reveal.

Nora felt dirty. This is what she amounts to now; taking pictures of politicians cheating on their wives. Sex scandals. God, what she would give to be an A-class reporter again. She missed undercover operations and dangerous intrigue. This kind of work is well below her skill-level.

A promise to consider looking for new work passes through her mind. Her heart clenches at the thought.

Nora figures she’s seen what she has to and scuttles away from her spot. Better to leave now than later. The sooner she leaves, the sooner she can wash that shocking image out of her brain. That man’s poor wife. His poor daughter. The fact that she would have to turn these pictures in disgusts her.]