Chapter 35

Hoseok looks up at the police station, comfort and strength filling his heart with pride. This is his home away from home. His second home you could say. His lifeblood.

Once he finally realised what his dream is, he hasn’t looked back. He no longer regrets or questions his decisions. There is no point. He is happy where he is, the way he is, right now. Sure, he could be a better person; stronger, kinder, happier, richer, smarter, whatever. Many things could improve his life. But these things are useless without contentment and self-love.

This is what Hoseok lives by. He has his values and his morals, but he is content with his life. It won’t be perfect, so why bother wishing for what-ifs?

“Detective Jung Hoseok,” Sergeant Kim Seokjin calls out, “See me in my office please. 5 minutes,”

Hoseok bows deeply.

“Yes, sir!” He says cheerfully, beaming at his boss. Sergeant Kim smirks, moving away to his office.

“What did you do?” Officer Lee asks curiously, “Are you in trouble?”

“I doubt it,” Hoseok shrugs.

“Do you think it is about that homicide Detective Kim Taehyung is the lead detective of?”

“I doubt it,” Hoseok chuckles, “Taehyung is amazing at his job,”

“Fair enough,” Officer Lee smirks.

“Probably has something for me to do. I don’t have any cases currently. Anyway, I need to go put my belongings away. See you later!” Hoseok waves happily. He walks over to his desk, places his things in his locked cabinet, and heads to the sergeant's office.

He knocks lightly.

“Come in,”

Hoseok opens the door to find Sergeant Kim sitting behind his desk with a uniformed person sitting in front of him. He gestures to the other seat as the person looks back at him. His heart stops, staring at her intently. She is identical to her, right down to the very last detail. Everything is the same, even the cute little mole on her nose. Is he dreaming?

“Detective Hoseok,” Sergeant Kim gestures to the woman, “This is Corporal Cho Jiho. She is transferring to our department,”

Cho Jiho… It’s her…

She’s supposed to be dead.

Hoseok stares at her, the memories flooding in like traumatic flashbacks.

The day she moved away…

“Mummy!” 8-year-old Jiho whines, “I want to stay here near Hobi oppa!”

“It’s okay,” 8-year-old Hoseok smiles, holding his arms up so she hugs him, “I’ll visit all the time, I promise!”

Jiho rushes into his arms, tears falling down her little, plump face.

“Pinkie promise?” She pleads, holding up her tiny pinkie.

“Of course,” Hoseok grins, “I am your best friend! You can’t get rid of me that easily!”

The day he visited for the school holidays…

“Hobi~ Why do you have to go back?” Jiho pouts.

“You know why, Jiho… I’m sorry we don’t see each other often… this place is so far from where I am…”

The confession…

“Jiho… I need to tell you something…” Hoseok asks.

“What is it?” She asks, putting down her phone.

“I… I like you… a lot… more than friends stuff…”

“You do?” Her eyes light up, “Hoseok… why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

She jumps into his lap, hugging him tightly.

“So… uh… does that mean…?”

“I like you too Hoseok,” She giggles.

…

“We have been friends a long time… how long have you liked me?” Jiho asks.

“Since… the beginning of high school,” Hoseok blushes.

“That long?” Jiho frowns, “Hoseok we have been graduated for months. Why did you never tell me?”

“Why didn’t you tell me? Huh?” Hoseok teases.

“Fair enough,” She shrugs, planting a small kiss on his lips.

The time they went for ice cream on their first day together…

“Hobi! Hobi!” Jiho grins, “Let’s get ice cream!”

“Alright, baby,” Hoseok smirks, planting a little kiss on her nose, “Let’s go,”

The texts they sent the day he returned to Seoul…

JIHO: I miss you already~ I’m glad you confessed to me!

HOBI: I just wish I had done it sooner… I love you, Jiho.

JIHO: I love you too… I’ll move to Seoul by the end of the year, I promise!

HOBI: I know 😊

The day he found out…

“I’m sorry, Jung Hoseok,” Mrs Cho sniffles, “She passed in a car accident…”

“How… why…?” Hoseok sobs.

“Just… don’t call back again, I can’t bear it anymore,” Mrs Cho sobs, hanging up.

All these thoughts, these memories. Everything comes back to him at once. He thought he had already grieved her. But seeing her sit in front of him makes him question everything he has ever known.

“Hi, Jung Hoseok,” Jiho smiles, “We have a lot to talk about, huh?”

Hoseok stares at her, not even trying to hide his tears. Sergeant Kim clears his throat, confused and uncomfortable.

“Do you two… know each other…?” He asks, looking between them hesitantly.

“No,” Hoseok says firmly, his jaw clenched tight, “What would you like me to do Sergeant Kim?”

Jiho stares at him in shock, but he doesn’t look back. He refuses.

She spoke to him like he was an old friend, not her ex-boyfriend. She spoke so casually. Does she not know how much pain he was in? How much pain he has been in all these years? He never looked at another woman again the way he looked at her. Their history, their friendship, their love… did it mean nothing to her?

“Alright,” Sergeant Kim clears his throat, “Anyway, she will be your new supervisor so make sure you report to her when you finish any cases. I’ll get you to introduce her at today’s meeting and help her settle in, okay?”

Hoseok nods, bows, and leaves the room, not waiting to be dismissed.

“Hoseok wait!” Jiho calls out, following him out of the office, “We need to talk… please?”

Hoseok pauses, still not looking at her.

“Later,” He murmurs, continuing to walk away from her. He heads to the meeting room, calling out to the other detectives and officers, “Alright everyone, meeting time let's go!”

Everyone stares at him with confusion but does as he says. Once everyone is in, settled, and Jiho is standing up the front with him, he begins.

He starts by going over the current cases, confirming any needed support and assigning new assignments. Being an organised, good detective, Hoseok has been assigned the position of organising the officers. Their district didn’t have a corporal, until now, so he took on the role without question. The other detectives are the same ranking as him, but they follow him comfortably. Hoseok has that effect on people.

“Also,” Hoseok gestures to Jiho as respectfully as he can muster, “This is Corporal Jiho. She is your new supervisor,”

“Thank you,” Jiho says, turning to address the officers, “I hope we can get along well,”

Yeah, right.

“Dismissed,” Hoseok says firmly. The officers murmur amongst themselves, moving off to do their assigned duties while watching Hoseok warily. This is the first time any of them have seen Hoseok so cold. Even with intense, traumatic cases, Hoseok has always been bright, bringing the team together.

“Now?” Jiho whispers as everyone leaves the room. Hoseok nods, gesturing to one of the seats in the room. She sits down, leaving Hoseok to sit across from her, turning his chair so he can face her. Once the room is completely empty, he speaks.

“What?” He demands. She frowns, fiddling with her sleeves.

“You’re… cold… why?” She asks.

“I don’t know, Jiho,” Hoseok scoffs, “Maybe it’s because you’re supposed to be dead? Maybe it’s because I have been grieving my girlfriend all these years?”

“Dead?” Jiho frowns, “Who told you that?”

“Your mother,” Hoseok snaps, “Explain,”

“Well,” Jiho folds her arms, “My mother told me you broke up with me… that you called her because you didn’t have the guts to do it yourself,”

Hoseok frowns, staring at her in disbelief. All this time, it was Jiho’s mother?

“Why didn’t you text me, or respond to my texts?” Hoseok asks, confused.

“I blocked you, because… well, I thought you broke up with me…” She frowns, “You were begging me to respond to you… so I thought you were just being a jerk…”

“I was begging you to respond because I was desperate…” Hoseok’s voice cracks at the end of his sentence from his barely controlled emotions.

“I don’t understand… why?” Hoseok asks, hunching forward as relief floods through him.

She didn’t know…

“I don’t know… maybe it’s because my grades were falling?” Jiho bites her lip nervously.

“I didn’t realise you were struggling in school…” Hoseok frowns, “That is still a huge overreaction,”

“Well, I never told you what she thought of you…” Jiho sighs, “I remember how she used to tell me that you were no good, that I needed to focus on my studies and go to a good university,”

Hoseok nods, struggling to understand.

“I guess…”

“She was intense,” Jiho chuckles, “With everything, she was intense,”

“Was?” Hoseok tilts his head, “Has she calmed down in her old age?” He chuckles.

Jiho looks up at him, biting her lip.

“She died, Hoseok, last year,”

“Oh… right… sorry,”

“It’s okay,” Jiho smiles, “I’ve grieved her… like I grieved our relationship,”

Silence falls over them as they get lost in their thoughts. Hoseok never questioned Mrs Cho or Jiho’s death. Hoseok’s parents didn’t confirm or deny it, and he never spoke to them about it. He never attended her funeral or anything. He would mourn on her death anniversary but never attended a grave sight to see her. He couldn’t get back in contact with Mrs Cho after their last call. He thought that maybe he reminded her of her daughter.

He never questioned it, ever. Now, he’ll never know the truth. He won’t be able to ask Mrs Cho or find out the reasoning behind it. He’s just stuck, looking at the girl he loved that he thought died, a whirlwind of emotions rushing through him. Should he be happy? Thankful for another chance? Angry? Frustrated?

He wants to be angry at Mrs Cho. How could she lie to him about something so cruel? Over what? Grades? Personal preference? But he can’t find the energy to hate her memory.

But what can he do with this revelation?

“Well… fresh start?” Jiho asks, grinning. Hoseok smirks, staring at her for a moment. She has always been a beautiful, bubbly personality. The light in his life, the sunshine after the rain. She made him the kind person he is today. Her smile brings him back down to reality. His thoughts cease the torment in his subconscious. All he is left with is love and relief.

“Sounds good,” he agrees.

Hoseok spends the day showing Jiho how the station functions and personally introducing her to each officer. She will be assigned to the same division as Hoseok, homicide. Her role is essentially ‘detective supervisor’. She will have cases as well but will be in charge when the sergeant isn’t available. Hoseok is certain Sergeant Kim hired her to relieve Hoseok of some responsibility so he can focus on his job.

He runs through the filling system and helps her get comfortable in her office. By the end of the day, the officers and detectives are huge fans of Jiho.

“You know,” Jiho smiles, turning to Hoseok, “I’m glad I transferred here,”

“Why is that?” Hoseok asks as they leave the station, finished for the day.

“Because then I never would have met you again,” Jiho grins.

Hoseok chuckles. He has the sudden urge to hold her hand, but he stops. It’s too soon.

“Now,” Jiho stops, making Hoseok turn to her, “I want to get one thing very clear,”

“Yeah?” Hoseok asks nervously.

“I don’t expect us to start dating or anything…” She blushes, “Let’s start as friends, okay?”

Hoseok nods, feeling relieved.

“That’s fair,” He smiles. He’s glad she is still straightforward and honest.

~Jiho~

Last chapter for a few days~ I'll be back ^,^