Secretary Kim had settled a meeting during ‘off hours’, at the blue house, they were instructed to go to a side entrance that was completely hidden and very much only seen by the trained eye. Jiyoo was wary, Jihyo was observing and Sejeong was just going over everything in his head before they got out of the car. It was unusual, but given Jihyo’s career and the rumors going around, they figured this had something to do with her being put into a higher position.

Regardless, the three left the car when the door opened and hurried in, for some reason, all knew this was a secret meeting without having it said out loud. They were all guided to a secluded office, there, the group was met with Secretary Kim, Prime Minister Kwon and Commissary Choi, the group was unusual, to say the least, but it told Jihyo everything she needed to know. They were there to discuss her climbing the ranks.

“Detective Park, it’s nice to see you again.” Secretary Kim greeted as the group entered. “I’m sure you already know everything that we are about to say, but let us introduce ourselves to your companions.”

“I don’t think anyone here doesn’t know of each other.” Jiyoo chuckled humorlessly. “It’s great to finally meet you all, Secretary Kim, Prime Minister Kwon and Commissary Choi. This is our lawyer, mr Ko Sejeong.”

Jiyoo introduces, having bowed a little in greeting to each name he said, both Jihyo and Sejeong doing the same as he spoke. 

“Well, this makes everything easier, then.” Commissary Choi says brightly. “We are going to need you to move up, kid, not even marrying senator Lee can shield you if you don’t.”

“Ah, so there ARE more people pushing to keep me in the streets.” Jihyo smiled. “You see, I was already decided on moving up the moment Secretary Kim brought up this meeting.”

“Again, your reputation doesn’t do you justice at all, detective.” Secretary Kim laughs heartily.

“Why are we here, then?” Jiyoo gets a little annoyed for being out of the loop.

“Well, I’m here to discuss terms and conditions.” The detective shrugs. “Mr Ko is here to make it so I’m not screwed over and they” She motions to the officials. “are here to see if my terms are acceptable and doable.”

“As your kid said, Jiyoo.” Prime Minister Kwon smiles gently. “But let’s discuss and see where we can find middle ground.”

“Can I just tell you what I want and you three see if it’s good enough?” Jihyo intervened.

“Well, let’s hear it, maybe there won’t be any negotiations at all.”

“Alright. Here's my deal.” Jihyo huffs and lays her demands.” Im Nayeon will be chief alongside Myoui Mina, I won’t be taking the position at all, and the woman gave up a promotion for me a few years ago. It’s only fair that she gets it, plus, they are friends and will work together really well.”

“That can be done, and I admire you doing right by those who helped you before, no matter how small.” Commissary Choi says kindly. “But we told you, not even senator Lee will save you if you keep refusing to move up. And that kid might get caught in the crossfire too.”

“The ones supporting you can’t keep you safe where you are for much longer.” Secretary Kim says somberly. “We are trying, but we can’t control what they do in the shadows.”

“Wha-” Jiyoo says but is cut off.

“Don’t worry too much, dad. People have been trying to off me since police academy. And I’ll be moving up, don’t worry. I’ll accept commissioner, I know that’s where I’m wanted and I already thought this through.” Jihyo lays out. “But, Im gets second chief. Also, I’ll get to commissioner in two years, any earlier than that is too on the nose, and it’s enough to get rumors rolling so it doesn’t raise any eyebrows. Another thing, my wife gets support on her way up.”

“We can get her up to State Council.” Secretary Kim explains. “For president, she’ll have to do it on her own. If she’s smart, she’ll make the connections needed through her career.”

“That’s good enough. One thing, though.” The smaller woman adds. “This support for her will continue regardless of our legal status. I’m not saying I’m already thinking of divorce, but you three know we are married for convenience, so I can’t discard the possibility in the future.”

“Fair enough, the support will continue, independently of your marital status.” Prime Minister Kwon conceded easily. “But you become commissioner in a year and a half. There will be a blown out case that you will solve and gain favor from the masses. After that, you will be in the big media and then you’ll be offered the job based on your contributions, there will be a national medal in there too, and then you move up.”

“I can work with that.” Jihyo agreed. “So we got a deal?”

The three officials huddle up and talk among themselves for a while, then they turn towards the group and Prime Minister Kwon extends a hand with a satisfied smile. Jihyo takes it and the deal is made. Mr Ko is given the instructions about how they will make this deal official and completely secret. Secretary Kim will be handling everything on their end, and Jihyo was supposed to start getting a few flashier cases, nothing big, but enough for her name to be in the media very soon. She knew this was something that could happen, and it’s not like she only ever solved murders in her career, there were more than enough requests from above for her to know this would be the case soon.

With everything agreed upon, the three drove back to the Gok residence, Sejeong was staying there during his time in Seoul. Jihyo took the time to explain her thought process and what brought her to her demands, Jiyoo was more at ease, knowing his daughter had indeed given it the proper thought. Sejeong was just worried about working with such high profiled individuals, but the Goks were also very up there. Arriving, Jihyo said she should head home, it was the middle of the week and she had work in the morning. All was set into motion, and this deal will save a few lives not long after, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Now, the two chiefs system was put into work rather quickly, Mina’s office was remodeled, merging it with the small meeting room beside it, making enough room for two to work there. It isn’t that they needed the space just for the sake of it, but chiefs, at least in the homicide division, keep a copy of all ongoing investigations so they can be up to date with their detectives and be in the loop if anyone came in to talk to them about the cases. With two, now they would be getting more active detectives and more cases handed out.

Nayeon was surprised but really happy, word around was that Jihyo was being pushed up by some political hidden agenda. Mina was the one with the most information and she shared it in a double date both officers went to with their wives, they did that quite a lot between the four. Both chiefs theorized that Sunmi might have pushed for something and kept Jihyo on the streets. Regardless, it was official and Jihyo began being requested for collaborations with other departments and other precincts, nothing too noticeable, but they needed to start making her jump to commissioner believable.

Sunmi was still hung up on her whole marital life crisis. It wasn’t really a crisis, Jihyo had repeatedly assured the woman, but it didn’t seem to do any good. She was rethinking entering this fleeting relationship at all, Chungha was great, but it wasn’t forever, and her campaign would come to an end in a couple of months. But Jihyo, she married her and should be staying by her side, no matter what, no?! Not that Jihyo didn’t have other company as well, she just saw it the other day, then again, it wasn’t like she didn’t understand. With all this doubt and slight guilt, Sunmi’s relationship with Chungha started cooling off fast.

The campaign was still in full throttle, and Sunmi had been playing it off quite well regarding her relationship with Chungha. The younger woman was quite busy and didn’t seem to notice anything different. While all that was happening, Jihyo had been getting her name ever more popular. She even got a letter from a little kid asking her to speak at their school, which she happily complied with, even got little police caps for the entire class. Things were also going well between Nayeon and Mina, they found a good rhythm between both and the lesser workload made both their personal lives improve exponentially.

Jihyo had also been intensifying the training she was giving her juniors, they all took it in stride, Yugyeom heard the full story and vouched for his sunbae so his usual team happily complied despite things getting a bit rougher. The older detective did want to leave good cops behind and people she could trust, this bunch was shaping up well. But nothing is without complications, otherwise we wouldn’t have a story, and chief Myoui decided it had been enough and asked Jihyo to come over for dinner so they could talk. She agreed, it wasn’t like it mattered much anyways, and Sunmi did say she should get on a more positive note with the chief.

The officer had insisted on going by car, despite Sunmi’s whining, it proved to be the better choice when they got out of the garage, there were a few press cars ready to follow them this evening, it was bound to start happening the closer they got to the election. And so, we have the couple arriving at the Chou-Myoui residence on a warm friday afternoon, one wife wanting to be almost anywhere but there, and the other pushing for this to happen already. Sunmi had heard a few rumors going around and knew that Jihyo would need people on her side going forward, more than ever. Tzuyu opens the door, greeting both with a hug and inviting them in. 

“Mina is finishing showering, and I’ve been waiting for you both to arrive.” The taiwanese says, gesturing for them to come inside.

“We are ordering out?” Jihyo questions.

“Oh, I’m making lasagna, it’s already in the oven and Mina finished the sides before she got in the shower.”

“I do love lasagna.” Jihyo perks up.

“I know.” Tzuyu says and heads in.

Sunmi chuckled, she saw this was clearly to butter up her wife. But it was a nice change of pace, and she had been taking any opportunity to get away from her girlfriend. It’s not like she was afraid to speak up or anything, but changing coordinator this far into the campaign was not ideal, and she could tough it out for a few more weeks until this was all done and over with. Jihyo had noticed, but decided she wasn’t going to interfere unless she was asked about it directly, this was not her problem, afterall. The officer was having fun with her hired buddies and it was simple and easy for her this far, no reason to complicate anything at all.

“You two want anything? Tea? Soda? Anything else?”

“I’ll have that tea your mom sends you and I know you have a stash of.” Jihyo says and looks at her wife.

“I’ll take the secret tea too.” Sunmi laughed.

“Just know, you both are lucky I’m trying to get on Jihyo’s good side, or there would be no secret tea happening!” The younger woman grumbles but moves to go make the tea.

“What is this secret tea about?” Sunmi asks after their host leaves.

“It’s a blend her mother makes, it tastes heavenly and I know for a fact that she keeps a large stash of it at all times.” Jihyo explains. “She gave me a bit once, back when she first started dating Mina, something about apologizing or something.”

“Oh, so Tzuyu was the intended one?” Sunmi clarifies.

“Technically.” Said woman answers as she comes back with the tea. “I treated her for a knife wound on her arm, then Mina came to pick her up and well…”

“Tzu was one of those who showed up for the date, but I just told her I already knew and said my goodbyes.” The smallest one tells, settling into her wife’s embrace with her tea.

“She did disappear after that, even me, her supervisor back then, couldn’t catch a glimpse of her at all.” Mina added as she got to the living room.

“That’s because your schedule was pinned on a corkboard behind our desk and I made it a point to never be around when you were at your desk.”

“Noted. I always knew you were the best at finding things, but never thought you would be this good at hiding either.”

“Well, chief Myoui.” Jihyo huffs. “I’m here, speak up!”

Sunmi did smack her wife for being so crass, but Mina’s little smile told her it was fine.

“I want you to stop not talking to me.” Mina sighed.

Tzuyu frowned a bit, trying to understand what her wife just said, but caught up quickly. 

“Then are you ready to do what you need to do?” Jihyo raises an eyebrow.

“I’m very sorry for not respecting you and meddling with your life like I did.” The chief looks into the other woman’s eyes and tries to convey her sincerity. “I did get the order from above to get you on a time off, but it was just for a week or two. The three months were me, Momo and Jeongyeon deciding things on our own.”

“Nice of you to tell the truth.” The detective acknowledges.

“Also, I’m sorry I was letting you be jobless for a while there, I could have you assisting someone or give you some easier cases, but I didn’t and you had to resume yourself to paperwork and unofficially consult for the juniors.”

“Glad you understand everything you did.” Sunmi pokes her wife, so she continues. “And I accept your apologies. I’m not saying you are forgiven, but show me you learned and we’ll get there.”

“Now that you two made up.” Tzuyu cuts in, she knew this would never be over if she didn’t. “Tell me about this married life you two have been living.”

“You two know I’m mid campaign right now.” Sunmi chuckles, taking the bait. “There isn’t much of a life in general going on.”

“I mean, you are a new couple.” The nurse insists. “Don’t tell me you both aren’t jumping each other any opportunity you have.”

“We really aren’t.” Jihyo laughs. “Most times, Sunmi is so spent after a day of campaigning that she just shuts down the moment her head hits the pillow.”

“Smiling for the cameras, trying to ignore the chauvinistic remarks and shaking greasy hands all day long is more demanding than one might think.” Sunmi explains. “It’s very mentally draining.”

“I’d think it is. I barely had to do much when I was trying for the homicide chief position, and that was already hell.” Mina agrees.

“Jihyo isn’t even giving you a massage or something?” Tzuyu instigates.

“She gives massages?” Sunmi was very interested in this new information.

“She is a licensed masseur, I got her a spot in the course myself back then.” The nurse shrugs.

“It was a way you thought would get me to talk to you again that backfired tremendously.”  Jihyo fired back.

“Only because a group of nurses wanted to make it a competition out of who would manage to take you out.” Tzuyu complains.

“You are saying I got a popular wife, then?!” Sunmi chuckled.

“You have no idea.” Mina offered tiredly.

“It’s not like anything ever goes anywhere. If our parents hadn’t set us up, we’d never end up together and you know it.” Jihyo is so nonchalant that the others almost miss the implications.

“We never mean for it to happen, you know.” Tzuyu offers meekly.

“Like I told Chaeyoung back when she broke it off…” Jihyo sounds a bit defeated. “Nobody ever means anything, do they?! It’s never intentional but it’s always on me to just it up and be all fine and smiles. Nobody ever means to lead me on, or to just not be that into me at all, but guess who is the one that is always expected to it up and just be happy to be left behind.”

“Down, girl.” Sunmi intervened. “You have me now, and I don’t intend to let you go anytime soon.”

“”You aren’t being very fair, now.” Mina comes to her wife’s aid.

“Well, it’s been years of me having to it up and accept that I wasn’t enough for anybody at all, or that the people who led me on, and those they left me for, think they are that close to me at all.”

“I never led you on, though.” The nurse complains.

“Really? Because I knew from the moment Mina entered my hospital room that you wanted nothing with me, but you still insisted on that date.” 

“Not like you even stayed on said date.” The chief speaks up again.

“I get that you are defensive about your wife and all, but you both need to start admitting to what you did at some point.” Jihyo backed off, she didn’t want the argument at that moment.

“How about we eat something and cool down for a bit.” Sunmi suggests, the hosts just nod and go to the kitchen to prepare everything.

Once she’s certain the other couple won’t listen to them, the politician pulls her wife up so they could get to the other side of the room and talk, they could get a bit loud with this.

“Do you have to be an ?” Sunmi seethes. “They are trying to mend things and you are just bringing up for what.”

“Look, Sunmi, I know you are trying to be the supportive wife, but this isn’t me being an . This is me asking them to just admit to what they did and, finally, actually show some shred of repentance for it.” Jihyo argued back.

“No, this is you being petty because you think they owe you something.”

“Actually, it isn’t.” Mina’s voice cuts in. “We all owe her a lot, really.”

“It might seem like she is being petty for the sake of it, and maybe demanding things she isn’t entitled to, but it’s honestly not that simple.” Tzuyu adds tiredly.

“We get that you are the wife, Sunmi. We really do, but Jihyo has always been too good to all of us. Her lashing out like this is something she should have been doing for years now.”

“If you both are certain she can go on with this, then I won’t interfere anymore.” Sunmi agreed.

After the confrontation, Sunmi kept to herself. She still thought Jihyo was being petty and nitpicky but the couple told her it was a long time coming, so she would just sit back and watch. Jihyo was asked to go ahead and get everything out of her chest, which she did, and much like with Nayeon, the couple ended the night with a lot to think about, Jihyo felt lighter to have gotten a lot out of her shoulders. It was interesting, seeing Jihyo being so vocal about things, Sunmi started thinking about how to get her wife to be like that towards herself too, but that would have to wait until she was able to break things off with Chungha.