Chapter 6: Boss
Divided"Hey Captain! Welcome back"
A week or so after she was discharged, Jihyo was back to work. Walking into the office with Nayeon, Jihyo was met by the cheerful faces of the her members. Jihyo smiled and thanked the girls.
"Great to have you back Jihyo. It was terrible having Nayeon unnie in charge," Sana whined, grinning beside Dahyun before shying away from the eldest's glare. "Hey! I wasn't that bad. Right Dahyun?" Nayeon shouted. "Sure you weren't unnie." Nayeon sulked when the younger girl didn't defend her, causing the whole team to burst out laughing.
From a team of nine, the team was now reduced to four members consisting of Jihyo, Nayeon, Sana and Dahyun. Sana usually stayed in the labs handling evidence or computers while Dahyun would join the older girls in the field, having been gifted with 'eagle senses' as she called it making her the perfect sniper and lookout. Despite being down to half, the team still managed to perform efficiently, only receiving help on larger scale missions.
"Hey Jihyo, welcome back. The chief wants to see you."
JB, the captain of another squad came to see her, ending the girls' laughter. Jihyo thanked the older male and made her way to the chief's office. Nayeon walked with her, worried about the younger girl. They walked towards the office in silence, mentally preparing for what was to come.
Upon reaching the doors, Jihyo turned to Nayeon, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine unnie. Stop worrying about me." Nodding, the older girl patted Jihyo's head and went back to the office. Taking a deep breath, she knocked the door and opened it when she heard the chief's deep voice, asking her to enter.
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"You wanted to see me sir?"
She tensed upon entering, noticing that the chief wasn't alone. Lifting her hand up in a salute, she watched as the Director saluted back and asked her to join them. She stood awkwardly beside them, sensing the grim mood in the room and the enraged looks on both the higher ranking officials faces.
"Do you why you're here Captain Park?"
She did. She could already guess what this meeting would be about. Yet she lied, keeping quiet and pretending to not know what their intentions were. Or at least, what his intentions were.
"No sir. I do not."
"Clueless as usual! What kind of a captain are you, Park!"
She stood still letting the enraged man rant about her incompetence, her inability to capture a certain team of convicts. She held back her anger when he insulted her ex-teammates. Even after all they've done, she couldn't bring herself to hate the others. They've been through too much together. Or maybe it was because of something or someone else. Bowing her head, she took everything in, keeping quiet.
"How many times have you let them escape already? I swear, you are the worst captain I have ever met! You useless, good for nothing-"
"That's enough sir. I'll assure you that this will not happen again. Am I right captain?" The chief cut the man off, watching the young captain with apologetic eyes. "Yes sir," she replied, thankful for her boss' intervention. "Now, with all due respect sir, I would like to speak to Captain Park in private."
Grumbling, the Director stood up, brushed off his suit and stormed out of the room, making sure to shove the young girl out of the way before slamming the door behind him.
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"Sorry you had to hear that, Jihyo. Please take a seat."
The chief spoke when they were finally alone, breaking the uncomfortable silence in the room. From the darkening eye bags to his greying hair, the young captain could see how much stress the chief had been through and couldn't help but imagine what had happened in the room before she arrived, making her feel guiltier by the second.
"It's alright sir. It was my mistake after all." She sat down in the seat dejected. Turning to the old man, she asked him a question that has been running in her mind for a while. "With all due respect sir, why didn't you make Nayeon the captain instead? She's older and a better leader." Jihyo never understood the chief's decision to put her in charge. Sure, she has the most experience on the field and is a better fighter but Nayeon has proved to be better with people and leadership in general.
"Jihyo, I've known both you girls for more than two decades. I'm pretty sure my daughter would jeopardise the whole team with her constant fits of immaturity if she was captain. Do you remember the last time I put her in charge?" Jihyo laughed at the memory. Nayeon had been put in charge of the team while Jihyo was off on a case. The only problem was that it was April Fools and Nayeon and Jeongyeon had decided to y trap the headquarters with pranks. She remembered coming back to see the building in disarray and the whole team on cleaning duty.
"Everyone makes mistakes. You should seen the mistakes I made when I was in your position. But I trust you, Jihyo. I know what you're capable of. It's in your blood after all." The younger smiled at his words. "You'll make a great leader, Jihyo. Just like your parents were." She threw her arms around her adoptive father, thanking him.
"Alright. Enough with the sappy stuff. Now onto more serious matters." Pulling away from the hug, Jihyo watched as the fatherly smile faded from the older man's face. The mood in the room immediately changed. Jihyo straightened up and paid close attention to what the chief was about to say.
"There's another mission for your team."
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