first patrol

safety never takes a holiday.

[firstpatrol]

hey team, erika again. this time with paul blart mall cop dupe cha jinsik 😎 bringing some country boy twang into daegu, a little ditzy and tacky at times but i promise his heart's at the right place! (his brain on the other hand, not necessarily.) since this is a sideblog, i'm available to plot on im's via realityclub. alternatively ask me for my disc if you don't have it yet!

BACKGROUND

born in geoje like an early christmas present in good ol ‘98! youngest of two in a family of fishermen. papa cha, mama cha, and his older sister by 10 years

got stuck while climbing a tree at seven and was rescued by a very kind policeman who offered him a lollipop for being brave. hence the lifelong dream of becoming one! if a goat farmer had rescued him he’d be one instead ngl

was never the brightest crayon in the box.. got held back in first grade. always ranked last in class but at least it’s a pass. c’s do indeed get degrees 😎

always dreamed of getting out of geoje, wants to live the Big City life that he hears everybody talk about for himself! very head in the clouds, world’s your oyster kinda thing going on

didn’t get admitted to the police university on his first try, but that’s all good! decides to enlist after graduating high school and try again for open recruitment after a few years

moves to daegu after he completes his service to live with his sister and her husband. enrolls in a local uni as a literature major (simply bc it was the easiest for him to bluff his way into…) so he would be eligible for police open recruitments. also made a good (and cheap!) babysitter for his two nephews while their parents were at work

in true paul blart fashion, jinsik also tanked his open recruitment exam. what’s the second best option you might ask? leave uni and become a segway-riding security guard in a massive mall 🤡

would tell his parents he's doing something Really Honourable (read: wheeled a halmeoni into a lift and over to lotteria. may or may not have been compensated with a free meal. he's a charmer, my friend!) parents fall for it bc he's the pride and joy of his parents’ lil crew

PERSONALITY + TRIVIA

idk enough astrology so y'all can get a kdrama equivalent: bang samsik sun (ahh go crazy ahh go stupid), park danggu moon (good intentions bad execution), moon jiwoong rising (pretty boy on a scooter until he opens his mouth)

a wise woman (my friend) once said that no one exudes more confidence than a mediocre man. guess who’s one?

takes his job very very seriously… sometimes a little too much. ya he’s projecting. his lifelong dreams hv been shattered n it’s a coping mechanism! tell him he’s doing a good job (pls)

looks at everything in extremes, everything’s either black or white. a wildcard when it comes to judgement because he either can read you like a book and get your entire life story spot on, or the complete opposite 💀

fave spots in the mall include candycakes (tq for the leftovers), xpixel (come duel him on mario kart!!) and the midlight hotel pool. but he’s kinda here there and everywhere doing his lil patrol rounds. don’t forget to say hi to him when he’s segwaying around (they see me rollin… they hatin..)

trot music enthusiast… don’t give him the side eye when he’s crying to some ballads in wangto. also don’t mention lim youngwoong getting robbed on music bank in front of his face tqvm

PLOTS

bare bones again but i’m always down to brainstorm!!

those working at candycakes! his fave pastime is dropping by to ask for any failed batches that he could have a munch on. gotta scrap everything u can get in this economy..

a roomie or two? he moved out of his sister’s place a few months after landing his job since he now has some semblance of stability #adulting. being a security officer means working odd hours so maybe it could be something like the flat share… living under one roof but never really seeing each other bc you’re never there at the same time??? but open to other roomie dynamics too! he’s definitely not the cleanest but will try to build good habits.. try being the keyword.

his first friend in daegu! showed him all the cool spots n the cool big city things 😎 maybe helped him land a job at sunset…

jinsik hears there’s been some theft happening arnd the mall so he calls y/m for some help. nothing like some partners in (stopping) crime!

working hospo can get super draining. he gets it. so y/m is hiding frm their boss in the security station and jinsik helps them cover up (literally w a blanket frm the lost n found, but also figuratively when he sees scary bossperson looking for y/m)

oh no someone’s been playing arnd w the security systems!! it’s taken him days to figure out the culprit so he complains to y/m… without realising that they’re actually behind them 💀

y/m stole his segway and he’s visibly unimpressed… on the contrary come give his security buggy a try and vroom thru the empty galleria halls at night

an unrequited crush mayb?? plenty of fish in the sea but i only want u… he sees a pretty expenny bracelet that’s been sitting in the lost n found for ages. thinks that it could make for a somewhat impressive gift?

[firstpatrol]

he’s finally clocked out for the day, hair frazzled and the badge on his shirt askew. his flatmate’s two hours from finishing their shift now, which means that he’s two hours away from avoiding the daegu evening rush, escaping the chaos of the city in the comfort of a car ride home. so jinsik strolls aimlessly around familiar hallways to kill time, feet guiding him to the entrance of wangto records. she’s there again, the new girl, long chestnut hair cascading down her shoulders, radiating the kind of allure that only the city girls do. the kind of girl you’d only see in screens back in geoje, the talk of the town if she ever graced its streets with her presence.

there’s only one thing left for him to do — take the chance while it’s within reach.

with a copy of speak now (taylor's version) tucked under his arm, he approaches the array of record players nestled behind the vintage section of the store. it's a deliberate move, a carefully orchestrated opportunity to pave its way for conversation. (he's never listened to her music outside of the radio, let alone delve into her discography. what does taylor's version even mean? does that imply the existence of a non-taylor's version, then? is there a reason? maybe there doesn't have to be, the same way he picks up the first thing he sees on the new releases section that might strike some common ground with the pretty wangto salesperson.)

as he reaches the display, jinsik feigns a perplexed expression, his brows furrowing ever so slightly. carefully places the record on the waiting turntable, fingers hovering above the buttons and knobs, ready to drop the needle. except he doesn't. casting a hopeful glance toward the counter where the girl stands, jinsik waves and calls out, voice carrying across the store, "excuse me, a little help here!" his hand gestures towards the machine with exaggerated confusion, hoping to engage her attention. "could you give me a hand with this?"

WANNA TAKE THIS DOWNTOWN? / @lovehypnoses's yirang

[wingspin]

nabi learns to dream long before she steps foot in geoje. colours paint the pads of her fingertips, kindergarten hands bright with potential, even if she doesn't know what's held in them yet. her parents had praised her for it, a masterpiece hung up on the family fridge for the week before she took the ferry to her grandparents'. she'd made sure the picture would stay up on the fridge with extra strong magnets borrowed from the next door neighbour, but nabi hadn't looked back for it on the day she left. and it was gone by the time she returned, fifteen with fingerpaint dreams still staining her palms and a smudge of blue for those of her best friend on her cheek.

the streetlamps outside the sunset galleria look like lights of their dock from afar, against the night sky shaded into the colour of high tide at midnight. mondays make for empty halls at this time, the stalls shuttered down and vibrant display windows dimming with the quiet of the mall. like a world of their own, the sketches of a future that she would've never considered impossible when she was younger. one that doesn't seem lost to time and the ferry's ride between geoje and busan, perhaps. cha jinsik laughs and it goes through her chest, sits where they belong on a security cart travelling through the terrain of familiarity and not.

nabi holds onto the frame of the buggy, eyes bright and warm as they look out into the expanse of the mall and back at her old friend. jinsik's uniform crumples against the apron she'd forgotten to keep for the day, artificial evening lights melting off his shoulders that brush along hers. "let's go as fast as we can, then," she says, free hand points straight ahead with a snappy finger gun. "and we'll stop wherever we end up!"

[firstpatrol]

her words are taken in like a command, foot full force on the pedal as the engine revs up and the buggy lurches forward, even faster now. it's difficult to say no when he's pitted against kang nabi, a habit he doesn’t seem to have outgrown despite ten long years separated by the stretch of water dividing geoje and busan. not that he’s outgrown much anyway, just the tattered remnants of his father’s hand me downs that he’s replaced with a crisp security uniform — still latching onto the same big city dreams, same head in the clouds, same cha jinsik.

they're reaching the end of the hallway and jinsik's foot instinctively moves to press down on the brake, but a sinking feeling washes over him when he realises it's not responding as it's supposed to. panic sets in as his grip on the steering wheel tightens, knuckles turning porcelain pale. the once steady buggy swerves uncontrollably, defying his attempts to regain control.

jinsik knows he shouldn't, but his eyes are closed tight now. as if surrendering to the inevitable, time slowing down at every beat that pounds in his chest, each second stretching out in agonising suspense. screeching tyres pierce beyond the empty mall, creating a dissonance that slices through the air. his mind fills with a plea, whispered like a desperate prayer, please don't, please don't, please don't—

thud! shelves topple with a deafening blow, and books cascade like a waterfall that drowns kyobo book centre. the impact jolts jinsik's body, slams him against his seat. his shoulder aches, there's a fallen display worth millions right before him, but the damage pales in comparison to what occupies the forefront of his mind. "fuck," he mutters under his breath, attention immediately shifting to the girl beside him. reaches out a trembling hand towards his friend, "are you okay?"

[sweetreunions]

on a good day, jinah has come to notice that she would hardly have the need to look at the clock during her shift. time would simply pass by without her realizing as she busies herself with customers entering and exiting the store, refilling the racks with items from the back in order to (and she's quoting her boss on this one) "keep the floor fresh"– whatever that truly means. however it's a true misfortune that not every single day can be that way, including today. she's all but twiddling her thumbs as the seconds tick by, time feeling at a standstill. she's beginning to think 8 hours would feel like 800 until bells jingle and the sweet sound of her saving grace from boredom enters.

"welcome to isanghan thrift!" a bubbly jinah chimes, a smile on her lips as she greets the customer who she now deems as her own personal angel. in all honesty she would have taken a nap to make time pass by faster on this particularly slow day had they not entered, but her boss doesn't need to know that.

she settles back behind the cash register after her greeting, choosing to busy herself with her phone and scroll through social media– she would be called upon for assistance if she was needed. but as more and more time passes, jinah looks up towards the racks, noting the way they're essentially ransacking through everything and while she's no expert on people of no good, she begins to feel an odd suspicious feeling in her gut that something fishy was going on. now she's only 5'3" and despite having potential items at her disposal to be used as a weapon, she would think the odds are still slightly against her favour.

so she does what she deems the logical thing: call mall security.

her voice is barely above a whisper when she speaks in order to not alert the alleged thief in the store, a sigh of relief leaving her lips at first when she recognizes the voice on the other end of the line. "jinsik? i think there's some suspicious behaviour happening here...someone looks like they're looking to steal something." her eyes shift focus every now and then, trying to keep her eye on the target yet also not create suspicion. "help?"

@firstpatrol

[firstpatrol]

jinsik glances up at the clock above him, watching the big hand tick slowly, one second after another. he's sitting alone in the security station, quarter past eleven on a lazy sunday morning, no longer clad in the light blue uniform he usually sports. at this hour on any other day, he'd be crammed onto the backseat of a city bus, en route to his dingy flat after completing yet another uneventful night shift. mundane as always, a monotonous routine. what ever happens in daegu anyway?

he leans back on his chair, fingers tapping the desk adjacent. bleary eyes fixate on the entrance, hopeful that he’d catch a glimpse of his colleague walking through the door, any second now. it's quiet, save for the ticking of the clock when suddenly, his attention is diverted by a familiar ringtone buzzing on his work phone. the words isanghan thrift flash on the caller id and jinsik swiftly picks it up, cookie cutter greeting offered as a response, "cha jinsik speaking."

one mention of his name, and he puts a face to the voice almost immediately. though it sounds nothing like the jinah he knows — the bright, contagious smile that enamours him as he walks past isanghan thrift two months ago, melodious laughter in the midst of lunchtime chats once he finally mustered up the courage to introduce himself. today, her uneasiness is apparent, palpable even from across the line. so he reassures her, voice steady and composed, "okay, don’t panic. i can see them from the camera feed." leans in over the security camera, carves a mental picture of the person browsing through the racks. "just keep an eye on them, alright? don't initiate conversation, don't confront them until i'm there. i'll be with you soon."

and just like that, he’s running towards isanghan, all geared up for action.

it’s a rare occurrence for jinsik to seamlessly blend in with sunset’s many customers, as he casually browses through the racks a few feet away from their target. with a watchful eye, he carefully observes their every move, taking note of the many pockets adorning their jacket — a potential red flag, strike one. they’ve been stuck on a particular section for a while too, jinsik notices, the exact same one as he’d monitored through the cctv. strike two. his attention sharpens on their hands, which nervously fiddle with the price tags — a clear indication of suspicious behaviour, marking strike three.

gesturing discreetly towards jinah, signals for her to approach, holds up the first shirt he sees as cover. "excuse me, is this included in the 50% off sale?"

[firstpatrol]

jinsik learns to drive the day he turns seventeen. a cold, winter's day in his father's corolla that's been with the family longer than he's been alive, his sister keeping watch by his side. he takes the first exit out the roundabout, remembers to indicate left like the good student he is. still, anyone who truly knows cha jinsik would know better, unalarmed when he veers off the beaten path onto a rocky trail, overlooking a vast coastline. he pulls to the side for a break, looks out the window, and smiles.

"i'll drive you around geoje someday," says fifteen year old jinsik to his then best friend, sworn to a pinky promise and crinkled smiles, twinkling stars and roaring ocean waves as their witness. it's one among many, but cha jinsik is a man of his word — words never empty, and especially not with her. eyes trace the path of a butterfly that flutters by, and he jumps at the sound of his sister's voice calling his name. with a steady hand, he pulls the gear shift back into position, right foot pressing down on the pedal, and drives away.

he'll turn twenty five in a few months now, and jinsik gets to fulfil that very promise ten years later. though not in its exact means — sunset galleria's sprawling corridors isn't the rolling green hills and pristine waters of geoje island, and neither does a security buggy compare to his family’s worn down car, old cassettes blasting on stereo. kang nabi sits next to him, also ten years older, still as lively and enchanting as he remembers.

laughter echoes through the stillness of an empty mall, intertwined with the soft hum of the buggy's engine. "hold tight, this baby’s faster than y’think," he warns, firm grip on the steering wheel. "is there anything you'd like to see first?"

PAST LIVES / @wingspin

[firstpatrol]

[firstpatrol]

tag dump !