“Alright, everyone, step out for a while.” Nayeon commanded and the property was emptied. “Kim, follow behind her and mark anything she points out, we’ll come back in and catalog it later.”

 

“Yes, ma’am.” The junior scurried off to get more scene markers. 

 

“You know, I could have come in later.” Jihyo tries to argue, but she knew it wouldn’t be the same if she did.

 

“And you know you couldn’t. Now, stop being stubborn and work your magic, Ji.” The older woman pats her friend on the shoulder lovingly.

 

Jihyo just sighs and steps into the house to do her job. Nayeon, bless her heart, had been looking after her friend since police academy, she pushed for the younger one to be handpicked to join the homicide department, she knew Jihyo had a talent to see what normal eyes missed, and after talking to her about that one case she had been stuck in for two weeks, and having the girl point out things that were right under her nose the entire time, she knew she needed those eyes in her team, even if that meant giving up on that promotion so her boss could refer his nephew instead.

 

Nayeon had always been the perfect older sister, not that Jihyo didn’t have a family, she did, but said family was dysfunctional and her parents were extremely toxic. If half of what Chaeyoung had told her was true (she believed each and every word, regardless) it was impossible for someone with such past to be the most beautiful soul she had ever come across. Sure, she married the girl’s best friend, but Chaeyoung loved Jihyo just as much as she did, maybe even more, they just happened to fall for each other and ended up together.

 

Looking back into the house, there was Jihyo, still in the entryway, pointing out details nobody in her team had noticed. The junior she sent, smart girl named Yerim Kim, was, yet again, another attempt at getting someone that could love her friend the way she couldn’t, hell, the way nobody seemed to be able to. Kim had expressed interest in Jihyo, it was a conversation Nayeon had eavesdropped once she heard her friend’s name, so she took the junior into her team when the case was handed to her. 

 

The problem was, Jihyo couldn’t be a fixture in her team anymore, a mere two years after she had been fished into the murder department, she had been promoted to detective and started handling her own cases, she never failed to consult for Nayeon, but she couldn’t do much more than that. It was great, obviously, but the younger woman has been drowning herself in work ever since she left the academy. It worried her friends, they did manage to take her out every now and then, but they knew she did it to avoid the loneliness in her life. At the end of the day, Jihyo was always the one to go home alone to an empty apartment afterall.

 

Don’t be mistaken, Jihyo had friends, quite a few of them, almost two handfuls of close friends, the one who had the code to her apartment and knew her entire life story, and was very well liked by about anyone she met, she had a natural talent for interacting with people. It didn’t change the fact that she never had been in a relationship before, never had anything more than one-night-stands, never had anyone care for her above friendship, never felt important to anyone, never had been allowed the opportunity to show anyone who she really was. It was a lonely life, not one she had chosen for herself, but one that seemed to be destined for her from the moment she was born.

 

Looking at her friend, Nayeon always felt a little pang in her heart, the woman was such a beautiful soul, had a big and loving heart, was caring and attentive to those she cared for, but never got anyone to love her with a passion. It broke her heart every time she would see Jihyo talk about getting a date, only to meet her the following day and hear it didn’t work out, and Nayeon would see a smile on her lips and sadness in her eyes, that grew with each failed attempt. 

 

Thinking about her friend, the older detective had been lost in her thoughts too long, it seemed, for (when she came back to) Jihyo was walking towards her with Kim following right behind. Nayeon smiled warmly at her friend, she was hopeful this could be it for her, if the way Yerim was looking at Jihyo was anything to go by. She ordered her team back inside, telling them to catalog all the new evidence, then she told Yerim to take her friend back to the station, hoping the junior would take the chance to ask the woman out.

 

Jihyo didn’t have a problem grabbing dinner with Yerim, the young woman was smart and had a lot to say, she was also interesting and quick witted, which made her presence really pleasing. She didn’t mind going out for dinner, at least she would get a dinner out of it, she hoped. But, this dinner would most likely head the same direction all other dinners went. Not that Jihyo really hoped for anything anymore, it still stung, though.

 

“Park-sunbae, let’s go?” Yerim called, she had gone to retrieve her belongings and change out of her work clothes.

 

“You don’t have to be so formal out of the job, I’m just a couple of months older you know.” Jihyo eased the girl. She had changed herself, but the years of experience made her quicker on the task.

 

“Well, then. Let’s get some food, Jihyo-unnie.” The woman teased.

 

“Please, I’m really hungry.” 

 

They make their way to that one italian restaurant a few blocks away from the station, all the cops loved it, but it got expensive if they would go there more than once a week, even with the detective salary, it was a bit on the expensive side. They do sit down and start having a good conversation, Yerim learns the older woman was shy and reserved, always dodged questions about her family and would get a mysterious look in her eyes when asked about her love life. Jihyo doesn’t learn much more about the younger one, Yerim had talked all afternoon while they were walking the crime scene, there wasn’t much more to tell, really.

 

It was going well enough, until the table behind Jihyo gets occupied and she sees how Yerim cuts her off right then and there. It wasn’t the first time it happened, and at least she had a glass of wine in front of her, but it’s never something she really wanted to keep experiencing. At least she wasn’t stood up this time, with that thought, Jihyo fights the feelings that were trying to burst out, schools her face and downs her almost full glass of wine. She has seen the way Yerim’s interest in her stopped existing as soon as the girl behind her sat down, so she might as well just call it a night, at least they hadn’t ordered yet.

 

“You should go and talk to her.”

 

“What?” Yerim snaps back to her companion.

 

“The cute girl behind me. You should go talk to her.”

 

“N-no I-i.” The junior stammers. “I invited you for dinner.” 

 

“Don’t worry, we haven’t even ordered yet. Just go over there and talk to her.” Jihyo smiles, and it’s the saddest smile the other woman had ever seen in her life. “When the chance for happiness walks in front of you like this, you should never miss the chance.”

 

Yerim swallows dryly, she felt her heart being squeezed, the older woman was right, she was paying more attention to another girl and not the one she asked out on a date. To say she felt ty was an understatement, and the smile Jihyo had given her felt like a baseball bat to the gut. But there was no point trying to salvage this, she was interested in someone else, and there was nothing she could say to fight the point that was just made, so she remained silent.

 

“Thanks for the wine. And try to live happily, Yerim Kim. Also, follow Nayeon and you’ll breeze through this case, she might look sloppy, but I promise she will help you learn a lot.” Jihyo gets up and takes her coat, but she adds just one last thing before she leaves. “You should keep calling me sunbae from now on, though.”

 

With that, Jihyo leaves. She was just too used to these things happening to say she had any hopes for this dinner. It’s not that she didn’t accept things as they were, she just never understood why they were like that. Was she just too greedy and being punished for it, or was she just one of those people destined to go through life never making any deeper connection with anyone. Whatever the case, Jihyo made her way to her bus stop, plugged in her earphones and tried her best not to break down before she got home.

 

The night went by faster than she hoped, and Jihyo found herself doing her best to not look like she had another meltdown the previous evening so she could go to work. If Nayeon so much as suspected she had another bad date, not only the junior would be out of the investigation, but she would also be banished from ever doing anything important and would never get to be a real detective. How was Jihyo so sure? There was another junior, a few years before, who took her out to a pub, left her at the bar and was found having in the bathroom with a guy she had met at the pub. Nayeon only didn’t murder the girl because she saw a single tear run down Jihyo’s cheek, panicked and immediately moved to take her friend home and pamper her the rest of the weekend.

 

Suffice to say, Jihyo didn’t really want to end anyone’s career, but she knew her friend would freak out, tell Chaeyoung, who would, in turn, call upon their group and they would all go in a witch hunt against Yerim Kim, who just happened to not be so interested in Jihyo afterall. So, she made herself simply look like she had a bad night’s sleep, it was a common occurrence and less likely to be questioned. The walk into the station wasn’t an easy one, though, she got a few pity looks, probably from the people who saw her leaving the day before. It was known through the ones who had been there for a while that the detective had no luck in dates, and they had seen her look miserable long enough to understand what had happened.

 

“Morning, Hyo.” The receptionist greets, once the detective approaches. “Chief wants you in her room as soon as you arrive.”

 

“Thanks Jinyoung.” She smiles, trying to be friendly, but ends up looking more miserable. “I’ll see what she wants. Can’t be good if it’s this early in the morning.”

 

She doesn’t change her path, though, making her way to her locker and changing into her uniform. Detectives didn’t need to wear them, but Jihyo preferred, claiming that it was a way for her to not wear out her clothes when she had a perfectly good uniform she could wear, sometimes it was the sports uniform, other times she would mix both, but she never failed to wear the uniform. As she was meeting chief Myoui, she might as well wear the standard uniform properly.

 

“Come in.” Jihyo hears on her second knock.

 

“Morning, chief.” The detective greets. “I was told you were looking for me?”

 

“And yet, you left me hanging to go put on your uniform.” 

 

“We should keep a good image when we are out there representing the force, chief.”

 

“How long are you going to keep the formalities for?”

 

“We are at work, chief Myoui, I should keep professional, no?!”

 

“Ji, we’ve met in highschool, you have seen me more times than I like to admit-”

 

“I really wish eye-bleaching was a thing.”

 

“Not the point. I’m trying to tell you we are friends, and you should treat me as a friend, doesn’t matter that I’m the new chief.”

 

“I know, Minnie.” The detective relents and gets a smile in return. “Are you going to keep reminding me how much you disapprove of my preference to wear the uniform or was there something important?”

 

“You had another bad date.” Mina catches on quickly. Out of all her closest friends, she was the most observant, along with Tzuyu, guess couples are similar afterall. “, Ji. Just stay at your desk for the day an-”

 

“I’m alright, Minnie. And I’d rather not stay in today.”

 

“It’s one of ours, got it.” The chief really did see too much. “Alright, then this will make your day better. I’m heading down to Busan, we got a lead in one of your cases, the Lee Taejoon case, looks like they have something for us down there.”

 

“We leave immediately, or do I get to pack?”

 

“Go home and pack for the week, I’ll pick you up at ten.”

 

“Does Tzu know about this already?” Jihyo knew Mina’s wife got really grumpy whenever the chief would be out on a case.

 

“I just got the call this morning. But I’m not staying the week, I’ll be back this evening, you can call me down whenever you need me, though.” Mina explains, trying to not worsen the condition her friend is in.

 

“Alright, I’ll get two uniforms in my locker and head home.” Jihyo just huffs and gets up. “Oh, can you get me two more sports uniforms? Mine are already giving up on me, and The girls don’t want to give me new ones, saying I should just drop them altogether.”

 

“I’ll bring them over when I pick you up. Thanks Ji.”

 

“No problem.” Jihyo begins to leave, but stops by the door when she remembers. “Oh, and get me some food, will you?” With that, she leaves.

 

Mina just watches on sadly, their group knew how it wrecked Jihyo each time she was rejected. There was nothing she could really do to make things better, Tzuyu was one of those dates and Mina was another girl who stole from her. Jihyo and Tzuyu met when the, then, police officer was rolled into the ER with a knife wound in her left forearm, Tzuyu was the nurse responsible for her, and they talked a lot, the taller woman took an interest, asking the officer out when she was discharged. Mina was Jihyo’s orientator back then, and showed up to pick up her kid, that’s when she walked in on the nurse talking animatedly to officer Park, Tzuyu got interested in Mina but went on the date anyways.

 

Once they sat down at the restaurant, Jihyo didn’t order anything, having already noticed the nurse’s interest had shifted. So the officer just said she had gone to break things off and handed over Mina’s number. Tzuyu, like many others, felt like a knife had plunged into her gut, but also couldn’t deny that Jihyo was right. The officer just went home and called in sick for the next four days, Mina got a call that same evening from Tzuyu, who pleaded she gave Jihyo as long as she asked for, explaining what happened and saying she wanted to talk when things were alright.

 

Maybe that’s why Chaeyoung and Tzuyu bonded so quickly, same happening with Mina and Nayeon, they came about the woman’s life through similar paths. All of them came about either of the two ways, they had been interested in Jihyo or they were the one that took the first kind. The worst case would be Momo and Sana, Jihyo did what she always does, and told Momo she should go and be with the other, then went home and had a meltdown, came back a few days later and pretended nothing happened. 

 

Momo was Jihyo’s classmate in college (they graduated with a bachelors in law before Jihyo went to the academy) and Sana was studying in the same campus, it would be their third date, when Jihyo went to pick Momo up and saw both girls talking, she saw the shift and just walked away, sending her not-anymore-date a text calling things off, walked to a convenience store to stock up on soju and snacks and proceeded to lock herself up in her dorm room for three days.

 

“Yes?” Mina can hear the frown in her wife’s voice.

 

“Tzu, I have to head down to Busan today. I’ll be back late.”

 

“I thought being the chief got you excused from having to travel?” It was true, Mina didn’t have to go, she wanted to go.

 

“They asked for Jihyo.” It was all the explanation needed.

 

“Drive carefully, get her some greasy seafood when you get there and make sure she is taking her pills.” Tzuyu fires rapidly.

 

“Calm down, love. I told her to go home and pack, and I’m getting her something for breakfast. Looks like she had another one yesterday.” She didn’t need to specify what.

 

“. Look, just be certain she is taking her pills, we can’t have her having panic attacks all the way over in Busan without anyone to take care of her.”

 

“Tzu, I love you, but we all know she doesn’t tell us every time she has them. And she has been looking worse lately too.” Mina sighs in frustration.

 

“I’ll see if I can find out anything with her therapist. You make sure she’s taking someone along, doesn’t matter who, just place someone you can trust there with her and make sure they keep an eye on her.”

 

“I’ll ask Nayeon. Don’t worry, babe.”

 

“I’ll never not worry, neither will you. But I get what you are trying to say. See you later, then.”

 

“Love you, bye.”

 

“Love you too.”

 

And the call is over. Mina immediately calls Nayeon in, she saw the woman arrive while she was talking to Tzuyu. Their group was always protective of Jihyo, they carried the pain of making her more lonely each time one of them left with another. It was an unspoken agreement that they would all do anything and everything they could for the woman. When the detective arrives, the chief gestures for her to close the door and take a seat.

 

“What’s up, Micchan?” 

 

“Well, Busan asked for Jihyo, I’m taking her there in a few hours but Tzu demanded I place someone with her.”

 

“Tzu worries too much, but it’s not like we all don’t do that too.” Nayeon says, dejected. “I’m taking you want me to point someone out?”

 

“Well, she did have a breakdown yesterday.” Mina starts, continuing fast when she sees the detective is about to start talking. “No, she didn’t tell me, I just had to look at her. So, whoever you had in mind, I’d say pick someone else.”

 

“That kid is out of my team right now, by the way.” Nayeon seethes. “I’ll send you the forms later, and you better not question them. But I’ll see about who we are sending with her.”

 

“No, it can’t be you. I want to go myself as much as you do, but we both are stuck here for the time being.” The chief shuts down the proposal before it even happens. “Handpick a junior to send with her and make sure they know how to be discreet about watching her while they are there.”

 

“Fine.” The detective aggres through gritted teeth. “I’ll send someone already unavailable, just in case. So don’t agree if a married junior comes to you asking to be let off the task, we both know it can’t be someone who is free to pursue her then drop everything before it even begins.”

 

“That’s all I can ask of you. Now just send me a name so I can brief them on the mission.” Mina dismisses her friend. “Oh, and Nay? I want the papers on the girl who broke our girl’s heart on my table by the end of the day.”

 

“You’ll get them in an hour. Thank you chief.” And Nayeon is off.

 

Jihyo was a practical woman, first and foremost, her packing consisted of her uniforms, a few tracksuits, that one good pair of jeans she had and some shirts, among other personal items. She found herself holding the standard issued bag with room to spare once she was done. So, she decided to text Mina and tell her she was waiting and headed to her building lounge, the elevator always took too long whenever she was in a rush to leave, and it was a chance to talk to the doorman. A nice man, everyone called Mr Chen, he wasn’t that old, but his face started showing his age already, except, today Mr Chen wasn’t the one greeting Jihyo once she reached the front desk.

 

How did she miss it having already been out of the building that day? She went to work riding her bike, it was cheaper than public transport and faster too, those extra twenty minutes of sleep each morning made a real difference. Jihyo makes a slight adjustment to her plans and proceeds to talk to the young man that had been replacing her friend. The man was muscular, slick black hair combed back, friendly enough face but not so comfortable vibe, maybe it was needed for the security job. Nonetheless, he was in her building and Jihyo wasn’t about to leave her apartment unattended with someone she had never seen before just a few floors below.

 

“Good morning.” She greets politely.

 

“Morning officer. Is there a problem?” Right, she was still in her uniform.

 

“Oh, I live here. Sure do hope there is no problem.” Jihyo jokes lightly. “I’m Park Jihyo, from 401.”

 

“Oh, Chen told me about you. I’m Chris, the new day security.”

 

“Chen got fired?” Now, that was an unpleasant surprise.

 

“Nah, he busted his knee over the weekend and decided to just retire already. Something about needing an operation and not wanting to do desk work after.” The young man chuckles.

 

“Oh, I’ll have to pay him a visit when I get back.” She says, mostly to herself. “Speaking of which, I’ll be gone for the week, there might be one or two packages arriving, could you receive them for me?”

 

“Sure thing, ma’am.” Right then, Jihyo’s phone buzzes, it’s probably Mina.

 

“Looks like I should get going.” She excuses herself, checking her phone. “Have a nice week, Chris. And good luck with ms Lee, if you see a humpback and a bleached head, pretend you are just decoration and hope for the best.”

 

“Noted. Go get the bad guys, ma’am.” They both laugh at that and Jihyo leaves.

 

Remembering her problematic neighbour had her hungrier than she already was. Ms Lee was the nastier kind of poisonous, Jihyo had to threaten arresting her once because the woman was causing a ruckus in front of the garage entrance and she needed to be at a crime scene twenty minutes before (she had just got the call, but she was always late in her opinion). Jihyo just remembers the anger guiding her to blindly charge at the woman, whip out her badge and seethe through gritted teeth that she would be under arrest for obstruction of justice if she didn’t move that instant. Ever since then, the woman made sure her hateful comments would never fail to reach Jihyo’s ears.

 

BUT! Right now she was going to Busan to look at some files, crime scenes and dead bodies, I know what you might be thinking, but it really was a few steps up from having to run into her neighbour, may the odds be ever in Chris’ favor. And there was Mina, standing beside a kid Jihyo had never seen before, but he was definitely a cop, if his body language was anything to go by, maybe that would be her travel companion. She knew she wasn’t being sent alone, but really hoped she would and made a point to never mention it before she left the station, looks like the chief didn’t forget.

 

“Park, this is Choi, he’s your shadow down there.” Mina introduces in her chief persona, Jihyo gets it, she couldn’t let herself go on the job, in front of other people. 

 

Jihyo puts her bag in the trunk, shoving the uniforms Mi- chief Myoui just handed her inside and turns around to introduce herself to the kid.

 

“Hello, I’m Park Jihyo. Looks like we’ll be stuck in Busan together for the week.”

 

“Choi Youngjae. It’s an honor, sunbae. I’m very excited for this trip.”

 

“Glad to hear. I hope you’ll keep that energy until we are back.” The senior officer gestures them inside the car, she takes the backseat, intending on going over the files and updating her new partner along the way. 

 

“Alright, kids, we have four hours ahead and we are going over this case entirely before we get there.” Mina declares, turning the car on and starting to leave.

 

“First things first.” Jihyo interjects, starting to eat her breakfast. “Choi, give us everything you have on this case, start from the beginning and guide us through everything you know.”

 

And so the young man does, he did know about the case, but it was all too general to be of any use. So, Jihyo goes through it all, then they start reviewing the file they got from Busan and then Mina starts a round of speculations, they do make a quick stop halfway through, for bathroom, food and drinks, but everything is revised and they get on the same page about the investigation about the time they reach the city limits, it would still be another half hour until the station, so Jihyo takes the time to organise her mess, and Youngjae to make himself look presentable, Mina was always flawless so she just kept driving (she also never trusted anyone to take the wheel for any journey longer than one hour).

 

Everything goes as protocol demands once they arrive, Mina introduces herself to the Busan chief, she was fairly new and hadn’t met many other in person yet. They talk to the team and set out to the crime scene, Jihyo begins doing her thing, followed by Youngjae and one of the Busan juniors, Mina staying outside and explaining how the process worked to the rest of the team that tagged along, the head investigator, a small woman named Kim Carol, mixed with an australian mother as she claimed. Once Jihyo stepped out, about two hours later, to say the Busan team was dumbfounded once they stepped back inside would be an understatement, the woman managed to pinpoint five times more evidence than they all managed to find together.

 

Mina bids them farewell shortly after, she still had to be back in Seoul that evening, and the duo proceeds to the morgue, time to look at the body and hear what the doctor had to say. Detective Kim drove them, with the junior who had followed Jihyo and Youngjae in the house. The doctor walks them through everything and, once more, the prodigy detective points out so many things the Busan team had started feeling like toddlers tumbling around dead bodies.

 

“Don’t be so hard on yourselves.” Youngjae offers, once Jihyo had stepped out to take a call from a doctor, she didn’t really explain. “She is just special. We don’t do better then you over in Seoul as well, she is the one that keeps being called over and makes us feel like blind men in a out room.”

 

“That is a very precise way to put it.” The mortician agrees, dr Yen. “But her observation skills are off the charts, I’ve never seen anything like this.” 

 

“The older detectives back home have a secret club to hate on her for it.” The young man mumbles, but is heard anyhow. “Don’t let her know, but I believe she already does.”

 

“If she has those skills, she already knows indeed.” Detective Kim joins the conversation. “I’d like to talk to her more, who knows when I’ll be able to meet a mind like that again.”

 

“Just, please, please, don’t come onto her.” That garners some curious looks, but continues pleading regardless. “Please, don’t take interest just to drop her in the blink of an eye.”

 

They don’t get to ask for more as the woman comes back to find her junior teary eyed and the others looking at him as if he had just gone through a meltdown out of the blue. She shakes it off and they go back to work, might as well get this done as soon as they could and, maybe, go back home earlier. Indeed, detective Kim got enticed by Jihyo, as all did at one point or another, and once wednesday evening had rolled around and the Seoul duo declared they would be leaving the next morning, there was nothing else to do there, and they had to connect the case with everything they had back home, Kim throws the plea she had gotten from the visiting junior and asks her out for dinner.

 

It happens as it always does, Jihyo sits down, looked like the restaurant was popular among cops, Carol had greeted five people before they got to their table. They order drinks while buying time to look through the menu, when a group of detectives arrives, Jihyo was certain, they all screamed cop, but didn’t hold the tan they should if they weren’t detectives. Her host demeanor changes once she sees someone among the group, she’d been here before, more times than she cared to count, but she was leaving in a few hours and could use the free food at least. It was only at the end of dinner that she tells Carol to either talk to the young man she had been looking at all night or let him go, inviting others to try and forget wasn’t very nice, then thanks her for the dinner and leaves.

 

Youngjae was tailing them all along and, for the first time, he understood why chief Myoui and Im-sunbae told him to protect their friend and try everything he could to keep something like this from happening. He must admit, those hadn’t been his best efforts, and just face the shame once he got back, Jihyo taking a seat in front of him brings the young man out of his thoughts. She is looking peaceful, but her eyes are filled with so much sadness it twists the knife already in his heart.

 

“Don’t worry too much, this is normal.” Jihyo just raises a hand before her junior can say whatever he was meaning to. “Just don’t let those two know and your job will be safe. I know they chose you specifically because you are married and not an option, and I do thank you for having tried.” She chuckles. “Don’t look so surprised, you weren’t that stealthy back in the morgue.”

 

“You really do see everything.” Youngjae relents.

 

They decide to walk around a little, take in the warm and salty air of Busan one last time before they are back in the cement jungle that’s Seoul. They are ready to leave a few minutes after they arrive back in their hotel, at least it was a nice one, looks like Mina pushed for something better than the standard. The first train was at eight, and both detectives woke up too early, thinking the schedule was the same as the train leaving from Seoul, and that gave them an idle half hour, which they used to abuse the hotel’s catering services and ended up boarding the train and begging the couple sitting next to the toilet to switch with them in anticipation of any incidents. They were a nice couple and maybe slightly frightened by the greenish color on the cops faces, and agreed to the change easily.

 

Nayeon is the first one to spot her friend once she is back, immediately she knew something went down, her instincts were telling her it wasn’t about the junior she sent along though. Jihyo would talk to her later, now, there was work to do and she was really not in the mood to have her friends spewing those idiotic speeches about how everyone had someone destined to be with them. Pure bull, that was the propaganda people who have relationships try to make you believe so they don’t feel that bad about you being lonely around them.

 

The rest of the week goes by and, once more, Jihyo chooses to spend her weekend at her cube, working was her way of getting out of socializing and she hated being dragged places by her friends just to spend too much on mediocre drinks while listening to bad music and seeing all the couples around her trying to get her to meet new people. She didn’t want to meet new people, she already hated enough people, but that didn’t seem to stop Nayeon, Tzuyu or Dahyun from dragging her to strangers and getting her into awkward situations. Jihyo was honestly tired of it all.

 

In about three weeks would be Momo’s birthday, and that was something Jihyo had to, at least, show up for and be seen at, not a very enticing future but a social obligation nonetheless. And it did come by faster than she expected though, and here we have a very distressed detective trying to think of a gift for her friend. Screw it, a gift card for a dinner for two in a nice restaurant will have to do, not like the woman would complain anyways. And she could take Sana on a nice date, so Jihyo went through a few google searches and a lot of phone calls but she found a great sushi place that did have what she was asking for. 

 

It was a quick stop, and only took her twenty minutes off-route to get it, but the ‘delay’ would guarantee that more people would have arrived at the bar and she would definitely be seen enough to ensure everyone knew she went, and then Jihyo would be free to leave, go get some pizza, chicken and pepsi (she doesn’t appreciate coke that much, deal with it) and get home to a night of wallowing in self pity, before watching a horror movie to distract herself and force herself to sleep. It was a friday night, she could run to her cube tomorrow and work the day away to forget she ever went out at all.

 

Regret was the first thought going through Jihyo’s mind when she parked her bike outside the club Momo had chosen for the evening, well, the beginning of the evening at least. The music could be heard from outside, already a lot of drunk people hanging at the door, a few by the alley, looking like their intestines were about to spill throughout the pavement (she made the sensible choice of parking across the street, and close enough to a lamppost but far enough for people to not pee on her only love). But, this was one of the social obligations she needed to fulfil if she wanted to be left alone, Sana would surely brage into the station and try to slap her across the face if she missed it today.

 

So, Jihyo chugs down the rest of her water bottle, places it back into the holder, locks her baby properly and grits her teeth, might as well get it over with already. Getting in was faster than she hoped, maybe too fast, and Jihyo makes her way to the bar to get some cranberry juice with cherries and ice, it passes as a drink easily and her friends should be tipsy enough to not question it. Finding the birthday girl was another challenge in itself. The group was at a table in the back, and part of the dancefloor had to be crossed to get there, thank the mandatory gym sessions for providing the strength to push her way through.

 

“Ji! You came!” Sana is the first one to notice her. “And you already have a drink!”

 

“I couldn’t not come, right?” Jihyo answers and accepts the hug. “Now let me get squished by Momo already and get it over with.”

 

“Like you don’t love it.” The taller woman teases.

 

Jihyo thinks ‘I really don’t’, but says nothing. She just makes her way to Momo, who already has her arms open and is waiting for her to fall into the embrace. Not that Jihyo doesn’t love her friends, but she’s been touch starved for so long that this kind of thing just makes her feel worse. Maybe she’ll call for a company for the evening later, wouldn’t be the first time, certainly not the last, and it should distract her enough to not cry to sleep that evening, this club would give her enough of a headache already.

 

“Thanks for coming.” Momo whispers, still holding her.

 

“Not for that. I do have a gift for you, though.”

 

“You know showing up is enough.”

 

“Still got it, though.” Jihyo pushes herself away, reaching into her coat and pulling out a small card.

 

The reaction is what she was expecting, Momo’s eyes lit up and she sloppily kisses Jihyo’s cheek, then she pulls Sana and shows her the dinner gift. They both pull Jihyo to another hug and relay their gratitude, not that the detective expected anything different, she was known to gift perfectly among her friends, they never seemed to reciprocate the care however. Not that she could really blame any of them, she wasn’t that important after all.

 

As promised, Jihyo was up and in her cube saturday morning, trying to wrap up the paperwork that had been reproducing on her desk, seriously, they had multiplied overnight there was no way they didn’t. Mina came in around ten, by that time, half the paperwork was already finished, and called Jihyo in. There was no new case,  Jihyo had been doing desk work the whole week, this can’t be good. But the chief called, might as well not leave her waiting and make everything worse.

 

“You needed me, chief?”

 

“Close the door, please.” Mina sounded like she was fighting a hangover. “You never really drank anything last night, did you?”

 

“Nope. Cranberry juice with ice and cherries, looks pretty enough to pass as a drink.”

 

“And there we were thinking you finally allowed yourself some fun.” There is a bit of resentment in Mina’s words, but it’s ignored.

 

“I don’t need alcohol to have fun. And I showed up, that should count for something.” Jihyo really wasn’t feeling it.

 

“When are you going to believe we really do care for you? We had someone to introduce to you and when she got there, you were nowhere to be seen.”

 

“I believe you care for me.” It was honest, but not the whole truth. “And if you are talking about that boy who is friends with Tzuyu, I saw him on my way out, he was chatting up some pretty girl by the entrance.”

 

“And who told you he was interested in her, and not willing to meet you?” Now Mina was getting angry.

 

“Don’t. Just don’t.” Jihyo had it. This wasn’t the first time they had this conversation, but today was not a day she was willing to go through this. “I’m not talking about this today and I have other things to do.”

 

“Paperwork isn’t going anywhere and I’m worried. We are all worried, and you aren’t exactly making anything easy.”

 

“You don’t need to worry. Do you need me for anything work related, chief? I should get back to my desk.” And that was Jihyo shutting down the conversation.

 

“Well, detective.” Mina understood to leave it alone for the time being. “You have too many vacations to take, and I have to get you out for a month, at least. No, you can’t just pretend to take it, the order came from above and they will check it. You are off from monday onwards and don’t come back until the new year.”

 

“That’s like, almost two months.”

 

“And not even a scratch on the vacation time you have accumulated. Yes, I’m aware.”

 

“Why are you doing this?”

 

“You need to take some time off.”

 

“Not the real reason, but I see you aren’t ready to be honest with me. I’ll go and finish my paperwork.”

 

With that Jihyo left, and Mina stood in her office feeling even worse than she already was before doing that. She knew the detective hated going on vacation, but Jihyo had already accumulated almost three years worth of vacation time, the higher ups only let it slide because she was the best on the job, but their friend group wanted the woman to rest for once. Nayeon slithered in when she saw it safe, and still found Mina just standing there, looking like she kicked a puppy. She might just have.

 

“She hated it, I take it.” Nayeon started.

 

“Obviously, but that’s not the worst part. She asked me why, and I couldn’t tell her.”

 

“That must have been hard, she looks betrayed whenever we do these things to her.”

 

“I’m afraid she will take it badly. Maybe forcing her to take a vacation was a mistake we’ll never really get out of.”

 

Indeed, Jihyo took it very badly, she hated taking her vacation days because she really had nothing to do, no family to visit, nowhere to go, just sit at home and wallow in the failure her life had come to. Alright, she was the most wanted detective in the country, her closure rate was above 90% and she was professionally respected throughout the entire nation, but if you don’t really have anyone to share anything with, what is really the point on achieving all that?!

 

So, just to really have anything to do other than stay home, get off her meds and try to drown herself in alcohol, she decided moving would be good. If anything, just to have a new neighborhood and new faces to see, also, she didn’t really want her friends popping up as much as they had been lately, pity visits never failed to get on her nerves. So, as soon as she left the precinct, it was a little after lunch, and why not just begin house hunting already, she didn’t have much to do anyways.

 

It took four days, but the new house was great, a quiet and quite exclusive neighborhood, great security, updated cctv with amazing resolution, well illuminated streets, and her small villa was surrounded by neighbours with tall fences on the property line. She would have to install her own security system before moving, but it was a house she had been wanting for some time already. How did Jihyo get to afford it? Well, she got some money when her grandpa passed, he always liked her (reason her parents stopped talking to her too) and there were some royalties from a couple novels she had published over the years. Jihyo got really bored whenever she was forced to take vacation time.

 

To say moving her living room and kitchen last was one of the best ideas she had would be an understatement, Momo and Sana had come to visit one afternoon, unannounced, and Jihyo had been painting her bedroom to sell the apartment, they didn’t bother to ask why she was painting it, everyone agreed it needed a new coating and vacation Jihyo was bored Jihyo, so they just took it face value. Her new place was going through some renovations, minor things, but she had been moving each room as the new one became available. The group had a system, where they would check on her at least once a week whenever she was off work, things had gone south a few years back and nobody wanted that again.

 

“Hey, Ji!” Sana chirped when they found which room she was in. “What’s up with the painting?”

 

“Sana. Momo.” A nod and she is back to painting. “You all already know Mina has put me on vacation, why are you asking?”

 

“Now, let’s not be that grumpy.” Momo tries to lighten things up. “We brought you lunch, and some cranberry juice.”

 

“And why are you two here? What are you all planning with this?” Jihyo doesn’t stop her task, but she does sound annoyed. “I know Mina was hiding something when she chased me out, and I know you all know it too. The only thing left to find out is what, exactly, are you all planning, chasing me away from my job.”

 

“You know what?! Yeah, we are all into it, it’s all a big ploy to ruin your life!” Momo loses her patience. “We are all just trying to get you ruined when we ask you to take a break.”

 

“That’s enough, Mo.” Sana’s voice is firm, halting her fiance’s tirade. “You are on vacation and that’s that. Stop sabotaging yourself and just accept you have to rest. We are going now, don’t forget to eat.”

 

Sana turns and takes Momo by the arm, but Jihyo isn’t about to let them just walk away like that.

 

“I don’t need to self-sabotage, I have enough people doing that for me. You want to know why I’m always working? Not like I’ve never told you, but I don’t have anything else. Nothing. All I can do is work, and it seems that even that is taken from me.”

 

“Get a dog, then.” Momo snaps. Big mistake.

 

“I CAN’T HAVE ONE!” Jihyo’s voice was naturally loud, it gets louder whenever she is angry. “I don’t know if you remember, but my last dog died trying to get a robber away from YOU!”

 

Momo has paled, she didn’t think things through and said what she shouldn’t. They all knew how hard Jihyo had taken her service dog getting stabbed by a robber while saving Momo, she didn’t speak for a month after that and took her even longer to be able to work cases with animals. Sana made to step forward and console her friend, but was stopped at the next words.

 

“Just get out. I don’t want to see you both.”

 

“When?” Was all Sana could ask.

 

“I’ll let you know. Just don’t show up until then.”

 

And the couple leaves after that. Jihyo indeed was hungry, but she wasn’t about to have whatever those two brought, not after this. Sure, her friends would get worried about her, but she hated them for not being honest with their intentions whenever they pulled something like this. And now that brat had the guts to bring up her getting a dog? She had a dog, he helped her with her panic attacks, now he is dead because that very brat didn’t listen to her when told to not go through the alley at night. Moving and not telling them was shaping up to be the best decision she ever made.

 

The next five days were filled with finishing up her new home, giving her old apartment some makeup to look better than it was, and settling in her new place. Now, all that was left for her to do was changing her address on the station HR and she’d be set, she had spent her morning calling anywhere she hadn’t been able to update her information online. With the help of the ONE person she could ask in the station who wouldn’t tell Mina, she found out when the chief wasn’t going to be present and sneaked in to take care of it. Nayeon almost saw her on the way out, but everything went well.

 

Three days after that, Jihyo was woken up by her phone blowing up, looks like it was Dahyun and Jeongyeon’s turn to check in on her. Guess they found out her old apartment wasn’t available anymore, but whatever, not like she was really that worried. With a grumble, Jihyo gets up and stretches, they will call again, no need to hurry to answer.

 

“Yes?” Jihyo, finally, answers with a yawn.

 

“Why are we being told by the doorman you don’t live here?” Jeongyeon sounds very angry.

 

“Because I don’t?”

 

“Jihyo, stop playing and let us up.”

 

“Jeong, I really don’t live in that building anymore.” Jihyo sighs, she could have used the extra sleep and doesn’t need this conversation right now. “Tell you what, meet me at the cafe in half an hour.”

 

“You better show up.” Jeongyeon threatens, Dahyun whispers something, probably trying to calm her wife down.

 

“Or you’ll do what?” The detective chuckles. “Honestly, Jeong, you talk like I’m the one who doesn’t show.”

 

Jihyo hangs up as soon as she says that, maybe it was a low blow, but Jeongyeon needs to be kept in check around her often. The woman was great, but she had this ridiculous sense of superiority that didn’t look good on her at all. There were no ill feelings towards Dahyun, though, she didn’t even know Jeongyeon had been stringing Jihyo along at the time, and she was honestly a good person in general, one of the few that really bothered to sit down and talk to Jihyo, getting to know whatever the officer was willing to share. 

 

True to her words, Jihyo made a point to always be around Jeongyeon, maybe there was a bit of bitterness to it, but she was entitled to it so nobody intervened, detective Park arrived at the coffee shop less than half an hour later. Still in the wrinkled sweatpants she had slept in, she did bother to change her shirt, fix her hair, wash her face and brush her teeth, though. Dahyun counted that as a win, she knew Jihyo would never put in an effort to meet Jeongyeon, but would do it for her. The two had outings every now and then, mainly whenever Mina told them Jihyo was having a bad day, the only other person in the group the detective would try and talk to was Chaeyoung, and that was only because she had been the only one to cut whatever they were working on as soon as she knew they wouldn’t be anything other than friends. It was more of appreciating the honesty than anything.

 

“Glad you decided to show up.” Jeongyeon never really learned when to get off her high horse.

 

“I’m not the one who stands others up. Usually I’m present whenever I say I am.” The venom dripping from each word stops almost comically when she turns to Dahyun. “Hey, Hyunie. You are looking great, love the new hair.”

 

“Thanks, Ji.” Dahyun had learned to just brush over the cold war between her wife and their friend. “When did you move?”

 

“Sana and Momo showed up last week a day before I delivered the apartment.”

 

“You could have told me, I would be happy to help.”

 

“I know you would, but I was getting some work done at the new place too, so I really moved one room at the time.”

 

“Tha-”

 

“Why didn’t you tell any of us you were moving?” Jeongyeon lost her temper again and decided it would be a good idea to just cut the conversation.

 

“Well, I don’t really have to tell anyone anything, do I? I was put on forced vacation and decided I wanted a change of scenery.” The coldness and venom are back.

 

“You have to tell us these things.”

 

“Do I? And why would that be? Because you are my friends? Supposed friends who interfere in my private life at their will? Great friends.”

 

“We worry about you, can’t you see that? God, Sana was right when she said forcing you to take a vacation was a bad idea.” The taller woman looks like she said something she shouldn’t as soon as she says it, but Jihyo already knew that much.

 

“Sana does contribute with something useful every now and then.”

 

“You know what, this is why you are always left behind. You can’t get your head out of your for once.” 

 

“And you can get out of that high horse that isn’t even yours to face reality. You were the one stringing me along, Jeongyeon. Don’t play the innocent and unassuming little girl, it doesn’t suit you.” Jihyo gets up at that, not forgetting to say her goodbye to, perhaps, the only real friend she considers by now. “Call me later and we’ll talk properly, Hyunnie.”

 

With that, Jihyo is gone. Jeongyeon is still fuming, she never took well to being called out, and this thing she had with Jihyo killed her every time it happened, but she was too prideful to step down and own up to her mistakes. Dahyun knew both sides, but couldn’t betray Jihyo and tell her wife whatever they talked about, friends don’t do that with friends, and she knew she was the one person Jihyo considered as such. Time to ditch her wife and get to the bottom of this sudden move.

 

“Why do you always screw things up? She was willing to talk this time.”

 

“Sorry, dubs. I can’t seem to stop being an with her.”

 

“It’s alright, but I’m taking the car and meeting up with her.” Dahyun stops her wife as soon as she tries to say something. “And you are going to the station and talk to Mina about this ridiculous plan of yours. I told you it was a ridiculous idea, Sana told you it was a ridiculous idea, and Chae told you to never speak of it again, but you all ignored us and decided to meddle anyway.”

 

“Yes ma’am.” Jeongyeon doesn’t even raise her head.

 

“I’ll be going, with luck, I can get her to answer my call.”

 

Dahyun just pats her wife’s head and leaves, it wasn’t like she had anything else to say, and Jeongyeon had just lost her right to kisses for the rest of the week anyways. Jihyo did answer the call, she had taken an uber over, and happened to be waiting for the bus to get back home and resume her sleeping. What Dahyun never expected was to be guided to Jihyo’s new place, the detective knew the Kims’ car GPS would track their location, so she attached a signal jammer to it, she also trusted Dahyun wouldn’t spill her new address without her permission.

 

“What are you placing on my car, detective Park?” 

 

“Just a little signal jammer, can’t have my new address recorded just yet.” Jihyo, then points to a small button on the device. “Just press this button once you think you are far enough and it will turn off. You can keep it, just remember to turn it on if you want to visit again.”

 

“Will do. But why this neighborhood? Never thought you were an unnie gangnam style.”

 

“Please, we are not in gangnam. But I like the security here, the entire neighborhood has an up to date cctv system, there is a private security company patrolling the streets and it’s a really calm neighborhood.”

 

“Sounds expensive.” Dahyun didn’t even bother trying to hide the amazement in her voice. “This is a really nice area, though. I’m feeling my car doesn’t really belong roaming these streets.”

 

“Don’t worry too much, I’ve already registered everyone’s cars with the security company. They shouldn’t bother any of you.”

 

“Oh. That’s nice.” The pale woman wasn’t expecting it. “Now, which house is yours? I wanna see how you pimped your crib.”

 

“Okay, promise you’ll never say that again and you can come over anytime.”

 

“Promise.”

 

Jihyo knew Dahyun understood the invitation didn’t involve Jeongyeon and was very thankful that she didn’t need to say it aloud. They understood each other and were fine with the limits in their relationship, maybe it was the one true friendship Jihyo had. To say the younger one was impressed was an understatement, this house was next level rich , it screamed high society and ridiculous money. They all knew Jihyo was well off enough, but nobody expected this.

 

“Okay, are you sure I can be here?” Dahyun wonders aloud. “More importantly, are you sure YOU should be wandering around this area wearing sweatpants and an oversized shirt?!”

 

“Don’t worry too much. They can’t really do much about any of this, and my neighbours are really chill. Mrs Zhao is a writer, I’ve seen her walking around in underwear and a silk robe more than I can count already.” Jihyo says, pointing to the left, then switches to the other neighbour. “Chen is a nice boy, but he builds race cars, and has his own project happening in his garage, so he is always walking around covered in grease. This place was everything I was looking for, and I got a pretty good deal because nobody with enough money to be in this neighborhood wanted to live between these two.”

 

“Saying it like that, I’ll just make myself at home, then.”

 

“Please do. Now let’s go in so I can brag about my new place.”

 

The two women spend the rest of the day walking around the new house, Jihyo pointing out all the things she changed and thought were really cool, like the game setup with the huge screen and all the latest consoles. The detective had voiced her want for something like that many times before, but her apartment never really allowed her to have it. The kitchen was impressive as well, Jihyo’s therapist had suggested cooking as a way to relax and clear her mind, and she got to the level to get her own Michelin stars if she ever wanted to. Dahyun had to admit, the place was amazing, she wondered how much it was spent here, but the thought fled from her mind as soon as Jihyo brought them to the kitchen and declared she was making dinner.

 

It’s only a couple days later that Mina calls, her passive anger had brought fear to the hearts of many, but not Jihyo, never Jihyo. So the detective lets a few calls go by, purposefully adding fuel to the fire that were her friends need to control her life so they could be less guilty about themselves. When the calls are answered, though, it starts with a few choice words from both sides.

 

“Chief Myoui, how can I help you?”

 

“Cut the crap, Jihyo. Jeong said you moved and Dahyun isn’t talking.”

 

“I’m sorry, chief, but my private life is private, as I remember. Something about safety reasons and keeping our profession from interfering with how we live off the clock?”

 

“Jihyo, we would really like for you to start talking to us, you know that. And you updated your information with the one person who will never break the rules and tell me where your new place is.” Mina sounds very upset.

 

“I know, that was exactly why I went to Gayoung for this.” Jihyo was honestly getting tired of these talks. “Now, stop trying to coerce people into doing your bidding, I didn’t tell any of you for a reason.”

 

“Nayeon is calling a drinks night on saturday, be there.”

 

“Yeah, sure.”

 

“I’m serious. And don’t pretend you forgot about it.”

 

“Mina, it’s the day after tomorrow and I have no intention of allowing any of you to harass Dahyun for more information.”

 

“Fine.”

 

“Fine.” Jihyo just sounds resigned.

 

“Just let us in, you let Dubs in.” Mina pleads, much softer this time.

 

“See you saturday.” And the call is over.

 

To say saturday came too fast was an understatement, it might have something to do with Jihyo sleeping her days away, but it’s just a theory. Very unwillingly, detective Park dragged herself through showering, getting dressed ‘decently’ (as her friends called it) and made sure she ate something before leaving. Once she unlocked her phone to call an uber, Nayeon and Mina had already sent her too many messages demanding to know where she was. She just ignored both and sent a text to Dahyun, saying she was on the way, not having the patience to handle those two at the moment.

 

The fact that Jihyo had arrived at a pub and not a club was already a relief, she could do without the loud bass of cheap electronic music all her life and it would be too soon to hear it again. She had messaged Dahyun once she got close, and the woman was waiting for her at the door, something she was very grateful for. The look on the teacher’s face never brought any good news, though.

 

“Hey Hyunnie!” Jihyo hugs her, an attempt to dispel the nervous atmosphere. It works. “What are they trying to do this time?”

 

“First, they are trying to make you talk to Jeong, Sana and Momo. You know, the usual ‘they messed up but you are the one who should give in first’ thing they like to do.”

 

“Yeah, do you mind, though? I’m not feeling like being nice today.”

 

“Not at all. We are good, and whatever beef you have with the others isn’t my problem.” Dahyun offers an honest smile, she knew to not take for granted Jihyo’s honest friendship. 

 

“What else waits for me inside?”

 

“There is this friend Chaeng is going to introduce you to.” The news is met with a displeased growl. “I know, but she’s nice and doesn’t seem to have any ill feelings about this.”

 

“They never do. I know you are trying to calm me down, but don’t worry. Just don’t try to make this whole thing sound any less like the worst idea ever, I like you too much to hold this over your head.”

 

“That’s…… Fair. I’ll stop trying to pawn them off to you. At least you showed up, or is this still to spite, at least, half of them?”

 

“You know I’m never not rubbing in their faces that I’m always the one to keep promises.”

 

“I’m glad we like each other.” Dahyun jokes as they head inside.

 

“Let’s work hard to keep it that way.”

 

They keep making small talk as both get to the bar and Jihyo buys them some drinks, might as well get some alcohol in her system before heading to her table and trying to power through whatever their group has planned. And try to not be a jerk to whomever this friend of Chaeyoung’s girl is, she can’t really be blamed for any of this, so Jihyo will try to be hospitable.

 

“Ji, you are here!” Tzuyu greets.

 

“I said I’d come.”

 

“Please be nice tonight, Chae brought a friend to meet you.” The taller woman hisses.

 

“I’m always fair, Tzuyu. This new girl has nothing to do with what you all play at.” Before they can continue, Chaeyoung pulls the detective to another table close by.

 

“She’s here!” The smaller one cheers. “Jihyo, this is Chaeyoung, Jennifer and Jisoo.” She introduces pointing each one out.

 

“It’s Jennie, you dumb dwarf!” The cat eyed woman bites, the other two laugh.

 

“I’m Jihyo. Don’t believe half the dwarf tells you about me.”

 

“Hey!”

 

The conversation flows from there, Chaeyoung, the small one, slips away to join her wife at the other table, and Dahyun joins them for a while at some point. It becomes obvious that Jisoo is the one they meant to introduce Jihyo to, Jennie and Chaeyoung did tell her they were together, so that helps coming to the conclusion. Jisoo is a nice girl, a bit on the weird side, but pleasant to be around, and Jihyo allows herself to think of asking her out on a real date before she goes home that evening.

 

But we didn’t get here with things working out for our grumpy, loveless detective, so like clockwork, Jennie and tall Chaeyoung come back from the dancefloor and announce the arrival of a Lisa, and the shift happens just like that. Jisoo stops being so interested in whatever Jihyo had to say, she keeps asking when this Lisa was to arrive, her stories become less personal and she gets giddy whenever the name is mentioned around her. So Jihyo steers the conversation to a dead end and excuses herself fairly easily, being the best detective in the country isn’t all fun and games, she saw too many things people tried not to show.

 

Maybe others would say she should stop looking for things to break her own heart, but what nobody understood was that she saw things she never wanted to, it wasn’t her fault she was born like that, she didn’t want to see how she met people who were already involved with other people one way or another. It wasn’t her looking for the signs that things weren’t going to work out for her, she wanted to be happy too. What nobody saw was that Jihyo kept showing up for these things because she was trying, she wanted someone to go home to, someone she could confide in, someone to take care of and be cared by. The thing she heard the most was why did she keep saying she wanted to meet new people if she was just going to give up anyways.

 

Jihyo stayed at the bar for a while longer, trying to get buzzed enough to get home and sleep, otherwise she would end up crying and doubting her worth all over again. Maybe she should call her therapist, but that could wait until tomorrow. Right now, she needs to drink and slip away before anyone notices. It wasn’t that complicated, the only people who noticed her absence had been Dahyun and Chaeyoung, the pale woman came by and asked if she was leaving soon, just asking to be messaged when Jihyo had arrived home. The smaller one just looked from across the pub with questioning eyes, and gave a tight lipped smile when she got a wave of the hand.

 

Outside was chilly, but Jihyo had arrived at the drunken state she had been aiming for, so she didn’t mind it much. Her uber was on the way, but waiting for it right outside the pub would be a bad idea, Nayeon should be looking for her soon and she really didn’t want to talk right now, so the bus stop it was. It was a little away from the entrance, but it had a place to sit and some cover from the snow. If the woman there didn’t talk to her everything would be great. But we don’t do great in this life, of course the woman wanted to talk.

 

“Tough night?” The woman asks after a while.

 

“I should be used to it by now.” Jihyo chuckles bitterly.

 

“At least you are still trying. Don’t be too hard on yourself, I’m sure you are doing great.”

 

“We never saw each other before.”

 

“Maybe, but you look like someone who tries too hard. Don’t look so surprised, your whole self screams ‘please notice me’.”

 

“I don’t think you are making much sense. But you look like you didn’t drink enough, despite being clearly drunk.”

 

“That’s because I didn’t. I’ll finish the job when I get home.” The woman looks about to say something else, but a bus arrives and she hops in with a wave.

 

“You talk to strangers at a bus stop but not your friends.” Not a question, and the hurt in Mina’s voice is clear.

 

“The stranger in the bus stop didn’t demand anything I wasn’t willing to give. She also respected the limits.”

 

“You are just being ridiculous now.”

 

“No, Mina. I’m treating you all fairly. You think you are all high and mighty, but all you want is to hook me up with anyone so you all can go back to ignoring the skeletons in your closets.” Jihyo spits. “I’m tired of this, stop introducing me to people who obviously don’t have any interest. I get that you all must think singles just want to meet any other single, but it’s very far from the truth.”

 

“Come on, you were talking so nicely with that Jisoo kid. Then you get all cold and left, it’s not the first time and I doubt it’ll be the last.”

 

“Don’t go there, you have no right. Jisoo isn’t interested and I’m not sticking around for when the girl she wants will arrive.”

 

“Don’t you want to try and not be a stubborn for one night? She looked interested in you.”

 

“And that’s why I’m the best at what I do, chief. I just wanna go home and deal with this however I decide. Have a good night and I’ll see you when you decide my suspension is over.”

 

Jihyo enters the uber and leaves before Mina can say anything. Chief Myoui comes back inside to see her friend’s words proven correct. Jisoo was already wrapped around another woman, hanging onto every word she was saying, with eyes that she never aimed at Jihyo, not even a glance. Mina feels another cut in her heart, they all always hated when Jihyo was right.