Jiyoon walked into the Seoul District Police headquarters that morning, looking all poised and confident. She felt refreshed and pumped up from the night before, ready to take on whatever challenges that was coming for her.

The other officers from different departments greeted her with friendly smiles and wishes of ‘Welcome Back’. She returned their warm greetings with a brief smile of her own and continued towards her team’s meeting room with brisk footsteps.

She was about a few feet away from the door when she saw Eun Jung approaching from around the corner. She glanced up from the papers she was reading and her face lit up when she saw Jiyoon standing there by the door.

Unable to contain her excitement, she rushed forward and threw her arms around her deeply-missed partner. Months ago, they wouldn’t be caught doing that, but somehow they had gotten closer after the recent case.

“How have you been? You’re glowing!” Eun Jung exclaimed when they pulled away from each other. “Are you –“

“No!” Jiyoon was quick to deny before she could jump to the wrong conclusions. She rolled her eyes when she saw the mischievous glint in the other girl’s eyes. “I’m glowing because things were perfect in Paris but the glow is going off soon because of these cases nagging at the back of my mind.”

Eun Jung’s shoulders sagged a little as she dropped both of her arms by the sides.

“You’re so determined when you’ve gotten hold of a new case in your hands. Fine, let’s go inside. The other guys are waiting for us. They’ve been anticipating your return, especially our young Taemin. He’ll be delighted to see you.”

Eun Jung pushed open the door and gestured for Jiyoon to go in first.

At the sound of the door creaking open, three pair of eyes looked up from their respective paperworks and they all broke into a smile at the sight of their team leader.

“Noona!” Taemin was the first to get up from his seat and reached out for her. Instead of feeling awkward, Jiyoon felt pleased being pulled into his tight embrace, grateful for the fact that he was still alive despite what had happened about a month ago. Because of her too, her team-mates lives had been put at risk and they nearly lost Taemin.

“You look even more beautiful than ever, noona,” he blushed immediately after saying those words yet he knew that he had to say it. Jiyoon was taken by surprise for a moment, but she smiled back pleasingly.

“Why, thank you Taemin. And I see that you’ve cut your hair and even dyed it red. Impressive.”

Behind them, Dong Hae cleared his throat loudly.

“He said he wanted to look good for you when you come back. I see that it works.” Dong Hae winked playfully at the young boy, whose cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red at the last statement.

“If I had known it’ll work, I’d have dyed my hair red too,” Henry said jokingly from the seat beside him. “I think Jiyoon likes guy who looks manly and cool.”

Jiyoon shook her head in amusement.

“You guys are retards,” she said dryly but still couldn’t help smiling as she did so. They were all a team, close to family. And she had missed them so much. Nothing they say could ruin her mood.

At least, she thought her good mood would last longer than half the day.

Just then, they heard a knock on the door and a second later, their superintendent, Lieutenant Park Ji Soo, popped his head in.

“Why, hello there Jiyoon. I’m pleased to have you back here earlier than intended. At least you can help these guys out with the recent murder cases.”

“That was my intention Sir. I think it’s time we put a stop to all of it.”

“That’s good. I’ve always admired your determination. Anyway, can I talk to you and Eun Jung for awhile please? Outside?”

Both of them exchanged curious looks before they followed Lieutenant Park out of the room. Eun Jung closed the door quietly behind her which Jiyoon waited with much anticipation on what he has to say. The superintendents rarely came down to check on them, unless they have a problem or there’s something important that they have to tell the detectives.

Judging by it, Jiyoon’s bet was on the second fact.

He took a deep breath before he started to speak.

“I know how hard Eun Jung has been working these past few weeks, with your temporary absence and taking over Jiyoon’s role as the team leader. For that, I applaud your efforts. You’ve led them well.”

Eun Jung’s smile started to falter.

“Are you...firing me or something?”

Lieutenant Park broke into laughter at Eun Jung’s innocent question.

“No, no. How can I? You’re one of our valuable detectives Eun Jung. I would never do that to you. No, actually what I wanted to tell both of you, is that you’re going to have another addition towards the team starting today.”

Jiyoon could feel her expression tightening and Eun Jung went still suddenly beside her.

The last time they had an addition to the team; the guy turned out to have a hidden agenda and nearly killed them all. Jiyoon wasn’t sure if she was ready to have another person betraying their trust.

Lieutenant Park noticed the stiff reactions on their faces and let out a small sigh.

“I know what the both of you must be thinking right now. But trust me Jiyoon, you will need him. Additional manpower doesn’t necessarily have to end up badly every time.”

“Where is he?” asked Jiyoon quietly. She has to see this guy for herself; she has to know him very well first before she could pass of any judgements. She still hasn’t warm up to the idea but then she thought, everyone deserves a chance at least.

Their lieutenant glanced around the surrounding for awhile.

“He should be here any second...Oh there he is,” he broke into a smile when he saw the person he was looking for. “Sung Gyu, come on over here.”

A slightly-built guy, not much taller than Jiyoon was, with straight chestnut-brown fringe covering almost half his face, walked towards them quickly as soon as he heard his name being called.

Jiyoon eyed him carefully as he neared them with a huge grin on his face. The first thing that she noticed when he smiled, was that his eyes totally disappeared, revealing the most charming eye-smile she has ever seen.

She felt Eun Jung nudging her lightly by the side. Jiyoon turned to give her a brief glance, as if to say ‘Let’s just go along with it’ before turning back her attention towards their new team-mate.

Lieutenant Park placed a hand on the guy’s right shoulder and pushed him forward slightly.

“Here Sung Gyu, let me introduce you to your new team-members. Jiyoon, this is Kim Sung Gyu. He had just been transferred here from Jeolla-do. Sung Gyu, this is Jeon Jiyoon and from now on, you will be reporting your investigations finding to her.”

“And this is Ham Eun Jung, Jiyoon’s partner. So if Jiyoon is unavailable at any point of time, you can just liaise straight with her.”

Both girls exchanged brief handshakes with him with Jiyoon even managing a small ‘Welcome to the team’ even though felt dry saying it.

She didn’t even know how the rest of the boys were going to react to this.

“I hope all of you can show him the ropes soon, so that he’ll be able to fit in here and be comfortable fast. And Sung Gyu, don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need any.”

Sung Gyu bowed his head respectfully at the Lieutenant.

“Will do Sir. I’ll make sure to do my best and not disappoint anyone.”

A/N The story's starting out slow I guess, but every little detail is important ^^

And it seems like Jiyoon's gonna have a new love interest? Hmmm.

Anyway, here's a teaser for the next chapter :)