One year later...

"Enjoy your Christmas Wendy! See you after the holidays!"

Wendy waved goodbye to her colleagues, blowing them a kiss which they all pretended to fight over. It was a comedic scene, one that she couldn't help but watch for a while longer, laughing away. Her eyes went up to the sign of the building that she had just left.

SM Entertainment. 

She smiled upon the large, pink sign, eyeing the tall building up and down and admiring all the musical artists they had put up as posters on their windows. One poster sat right at the front of the entrance, the biggest one, staring at all the passers-by loudly and proudly. It was Wendy herself, singing into a microphone with passion, her fists clenched and eyes closed. That picture was from a live concert she did a month ago, blowing away audiences with her powerful vocals. She was one of the best up-and-coming artists of the year, and she was told that she had much more success to come.

Wendy grinned at the poster once more before stuffing her hands in her pockets, walking to her car that she had parked across the street. Today was going to be a busy Christmas, she had a lot to do and a lot of people to visit. She entered her car, turning up the heater by quite a bit to help fight the cold. It was a very cold winter this year, with quite a lot of snow too, thus Wendy had to put on her windshield wipers. She set her GPS to the nearby police precinct, and she began to make her way over.

***

Wendy pulled up outside her old precinct, smiling at the familiar building. A lot had gone down at that building, a lot. The rooftop had been covered by a shelter, the helipad having been removed due to an accident that had occurred recently. Also playing a factor was of course, what had happened last Christmas.

She unbuckled her seatbelt, locking up her car and walked up to the entrance of the police building, exchanging friendly smiles with her ex-colleagues patrolling at the front. She walked up the familiar steps, looking at the lower ranked detectives settling their paperwork after their arrests, with some small time criminals celebrating Christmas in a holding cell. She went up one more level, and she was back at the floor she worked at. The high ranked detectives, homicide and vice. It was just a few people there, all of whom waved at Wendy and wished her a Merry Christmas. She smiled at them and looked at her old office, which had been retired by the Captain of the precinct. Wendy's old office was not to be used by anyone as long as the current Captain remained in charge. And this Captain was going to be here for a long time.

Wendy climbed one more set of stairs and reached the top floor, where there was only one office, the Captain. She knocked on the door, hearing a rather exasperated "Come in!" as a reply. She entered and saw Joy on the phone, her hand rubbing her forehead and eyes closed. She seemed exhausted.

"Just send out an MPB for the guy, I'll have a few patrol guys keep a look out for him."

Joy put down the phone, shaking her head and letting a breath out. Her expression changed drastically when she saw who had come to visit her though. Her eyes lit up and an excited squeal escaped her lips as she ran up and engulfed Wendy in a tight hug, the older girl laughing as she patted Joy's back repeatedly.

"You are so skinny, oh my god! Have you been eating?" Wendy asked, furrowing her eyebrows when she saw Joy shake her head.

"Nope, I was saving my stomach for the feast I know you'll be preparing later," Joy giggled, scrunching her neck to allow Wendy to ruffle her hair. Despite her promotion, courtesy of Soo Man, Joy was still the same as ever. Cheerful, bright and energetic, at least when she was with Wendy. Though everyone she was in charge of seemed to really like her too. The precinct was running well, proven by the fact they had just set a record for most arrests in a month back in June.

"Good on you for that. There's going to be a lot of food later, but get there quick or Yeri will devour it all."

Joy faked a gasp, exaggerating a shocked expression on her face. 

"That little devil better keep in check. I'll be there as soon as I'm done here," Joy said, patting the shorter Wendy on the head and heading back to her desk, where sat a mountain of paperwork. She sighed, taking the first document off the stack.

"I miss having you here. Things ran so smoothly with you here, and all those detectives down there combined aren't even half the detective you are."

Wendy only laughed.

"I couldn't do it anymore, after that whole Kang Seulgi fiasco, this police business was too much. At least I know this precinct is in good hands. And who knows, I may come back for one case. You'd let me, right?"

Joy put her finger on her lip, pretending to ponder Wendy's question when she really didn't have to.

"Of course. Any time you want your gun and badge back I'll hand it to ya. But you'd have to keep it lowkey. Don't need Soo Man knowing I basically hired an illegal detective that's actually a singer."

Wendy laughed once more, waving goodbye to Joy before leaving the precinct. She had a few more stops before she had to head back home to prepare her Christmas feast.

 Next stop, The Lady's Room.

***

"One latte coming right up!"

Wendy entered the rather busy café. She was happy to see Rosé and Lisa running all around the place in Santa costumes, serving coffees to a very large group of customers that had come in today. Jisoo was standing by the counter, sorting out the large number of earnings they had made today, and Jennie could be seen in the kitchen preparing many cups of coffee, all by hand.

"Wow, this looks exhausting," Wendy leaned by the counter, smirking at Jisoo who just let out a sigh, though with a smile on her face.

"Getting tired of counting money has been a lifelong dream of mine, Wendy."

Wendy laughed, taking a peek inside the kitchen to see Jennie bursting out the door, holding several trays of coffees and pastries for Lisa to collect. She wiped beads of sweat off her forehead, groaning when she saw Wendy at the counter, to which the singer responded with laughter.

"No more free ing cheesecakes Wendy! We ran out of that ."

Wendy waved off Jennie's vulgar introduction, pulling her into a hug which the brand new barista pretended to hate, but Wendy knew that Jennie secretly loved her hugs. Jisoo smirked by the side, continuing to count the amount of money they had made so far. Business was booming as per usual.

The Lady's Room had been bought by Wendy with the money that Soo Man had sponsored her with last year. After the damages suffered, Wendy saw to it and ensured it had been repaired it to how it was before. She then asked Jennie and Jisoo if they wanted to run it, which they both agreed to at once. After all, Jennie and Jisoo had been looking to start a normal life for a while now, and this was the perfect opportunity for them to get it. Rosé and Lisa agreed, and after months of strenuous coffee making lessons, Jennie and her gang were able to bring the Lady's Room back to its former glory. 

"Anyway, I'm not here for cheesecakes. I'm here to remind y'all that we have a feast coming up in a couple hours, and you should close up by then."

Jennie and Jisoo gave a mock salute to Wendy, one that she returned with a grin on her face.

"Aye aye! Wouldn't miss it for the world!"

Wendy waved goodbye to Jennie and Jisoo and left the Lady's Room, giving it one long hard look before she entered her car once more. Next up, she was going to a place that she never thought she'd have to go since she left her last post as a detective.

Rikers Island.

***

"Well look who we have here! Former detective turned singer Son Wendy! What brings you here?"

Wendy exchanged greetings with the guard outside the maximum security area of the island. It was separated far away from all the other main cell blocks where the common criminals were kept. This area was where the worst of the worst went, the worst criminals, the scum of the earth. Serial killers, es, and a certain mafia boss were all held within those walls.

"I'm here to see Kang Seulgi."

The security guard was rather surprised.

"Kang? What business do you have with her?"

"It's none of your concern. Can I see her?"

The security guard shrugged his shoulders, grabbing his keys from the table and ushering Wendy inside the building. There were multiple cells inside that kept individual criminals, who were all looking at Wendy with venom. Of course they were, she had put most of these bastards where they were at in the first place.

" you, Son Wendy! You landed me in this hole!"

"I'll kill you and your entire ing family Son! I'll your brains out first, then blow it all over the ing walls!"

" my ing Son! you!"

Wendy just blocked off all the horrible insults the inmates were hurling at her, following the guard all the way to the cell at the end, which held one lone woman, leaning against the wall of her jail cell and staring off into nothingness. She looked extremely thin, and her hair was a total mess. Kind of how she looked when she was pretending to deal with all those Alleyway Murders last year, except this was for real.

"It's like she went crazy. All she does is sit in her cell all day and stare at the wall."

Wendy nodded, thanking the security guard before sitting down in front of Seulgi's cell, knocking gently on the glass barrier between them. Seulgi slowly turned her head to find the source of the disturbance, and a nasty little grin formed on her face when she saw who had come.

"Get the away from here, Son Wendy."

Wendy didn't budge of course.

"Merry Christmas, Seulgi."

Seulgi scoffed, offended that Wendy had just dared to address her by her first name. She left her bed, slowly walking over to Wendy and punching the glass barrier between them so hard it vibrated the wall a little. Wendy remained calm, even smiling at Seulgi, who was seething.

"What the do you want?"

Wendy just shrugged her shoulders.

"I came to wish you a Merry Christmas."

Seulgi scoffed once more.

"Irene wishes you a Merry Christmas too."

Seulgi's facial expression instantly changed. She suddenly pressed up against the glass wall, her eyes wide and her lips forming a smile of pure happiness. She would have looked really pretty if not for her physical state. 

"Re-really?! Wh-where is she?"

Wendy sighed.

"Sadly she's really busy preparing some Christmas stuff right now, so she couldn't come to see you. She told me to come in her place instead, so here I am."

Seulgi slumped to the ground, a wide and extremely bright smile on her face. 

"Thanks, Wendy. Tell her I love her."

Wendy smiled back.

"Of course I will."

Wendy then got off her chair, walking away from the cell which now held a very happy Seulgi, who was now sitting by her bed and looking at a picture that Irene and herself had taken together years ago. Her legs rocked back and forth like a child's, giggling fondly at the memories of Irene that were running through her head. Wendy turned around and chuckled at the sight.

One final stop.

Time to see Irene.

***

Wendy was looking forward to this.

She hadn't seen Irene for a while, being so busy with her new career as a singer. She had to deal with a whole lot of promotions and marketing considering she was an up and comer, so time hadn't exactly been kind with her as of late. But now that it was finally Christmas, she could see the woman that she loved so much once again. She was giddy at the mere thought.

She parked her car, quickly getting out, grabbing the huge banquet of roses in the passenger's seat and jogging through the snow. She followed a stone path and headed past a fence, making a slight turn left and coming face to face with the person she loved the most. Well, she and Yeri were tied.

"Hey, Irene."

Wendy smiled upon looking at Irene's tombstone. The roses she had left earlier in the year were beginning to wilt, which put a frown on Wendy's face. She quickly replaced the old flowers with the fresh new banquet of at least a dozen roses, and her smile rece more. She kneeled down in front of the tombstone, swiping away the snow that had collected on the stone piece.

"Sorry I haven't been able to visit recently, life has been really hectic," Wendy giggled, patting the stone piece, which held a picture of Irene on it, gently. The cemetery was completely empty that day, giving Wendy some private time with Irene, which she sorely needed.

"I miss you so much."

Wendy couldn't fake it anymore. She began to feel tears well up in her eyes she couldn't control, so she just let them out, sobbing freely in front of Irene's tombstone on the first year anniversary of her death. All the emotions she had bottled up the past year was released at once. She missed Irene so badly, it was like a constant ache in her heart that she couldn't get rid of no matter what. She never showed it though, putting up a strong front for everyone else. No one knew how she truly felt.

"I need you in my life, Irene. I miss your warm touches, your angelic smile, your eyes that I find myself so lost in all the time, your alluring scent, your beautiful hair... I miss you so much it hurts, it hurts..."

Wendy sobbed a while longer, her head looking down at the ground and her tears staining the ground beneath her.

"I'm sorry I lied to your sister about you. I didn't want her to deal with the grief I'm dealing with right now. She doesn't deserve that. No one deserves to feel the pain I feel right now..."

Wendy inched closer to the tombstone.

"On the bright side, I got the Lady's Room up and running again. Jennie and her gang are in charge. Thanks to you, Jennie finally got that normal life she wanted to have with Jisoo. I'm glad they agreed, they can carry on the legacy you left... Every time I walk in that cafe, I'm reminded of you, which is why there was no way I could just leave it to die. Rent is pretty steep, but my new job can pay for it."

Wendy sat on the ground, smiling sadly as she stared at the picture of Irene. Even in that tiny square, Irene's beauty was obvious. That precious smile.

"Merry Christmas, Irene."

She stuck her hand out, waiting for the snow to come crashing down on her palm so she could form a little snowman with it. Instead, just one single, perfectly shaped snowflake landed on her palm. Wendy looked up at the clouds and smiled.

"You're such an angel."

She blew that little snowflake off her hand, allowing it to gently land on top of Irene's tombstone. She stood up from where she sat, taking in a large breath as she stared longingly at where Irene was buried.

"I have one more thing for you."

Wendy smiled upon the tombstone, looking at it lovingly through tear-filled eyes that were now beginning to trickle down her cheeks once more.

"I love you with all my heart, Bae Irene."

Wendy cleared .

"Seems like we've been here before, your eyes are seeing straight right through my core..."

Author Notes:

And here it is, the true final chapter of the story :) Thank you guys for following me on this journey. I can't lie, I shed a tear when I was writing this chapter. I can't believe this story has ended. Though this isn't exactly the ending you guys were hoping for, I hope it satisfied you all :)

So... Irene didn't make it. I'm sorry. I was seriously thinking about having her survive the gunshot, but I felt that it wouldn't have the same emotional impact that her not surviving would have had. This ending really shows how tragic Wendy's life is. No matter where she is in life, she's always dealing with loss. First her parents, now Irene. At least she still has Yeri and now Sooyoung :')

Her death is also Seulgi's punishment for all the crimes she had committed. In her blind rage, she tried to shoot Wendy but wound up shooting Irene instead. Irene died, by Seulgi's own hand, after all that Seulgi had done to protect her. Imagine how much it must hurt.

I hope you all could see the parallels between Seulgi and Wendy. Both no-nonsense women that would do anything to protect their sister. Unfortunately, Seulgi's way of life and borderline obsession of keeping Irene safe was to a fault. In an effort to do what she thought was protecting Irene, which was shooting Wendy, she shot Irene instead. Wendy, on the other hand, relied on her friends and support and managed to protect her sister. But, she still lost Irene, so it wasn't a truly happy ending for either, but it was much worse for Seulgi. At least Wendy was kind enough to tell that white lie :')

Thank you all once again for all your support once again. I will be writing many more Wenrene stories in the future, so please support those as much as you have supported this one :) it would mean a lot to me.

I love you all.

Till next time.