Dahyun’s divorce dragged on, as most divorces in Korea do. Jeongyeon was fighting against it at each step, but the teacher was firm in her decision and not backing down. Jeongyeon had thought her friends would take her side, she did try to spin her story and get them to take pity on her, but they all knew how the couple was, and Jihyo had made it very clear that she would crush anyone who dared to interfere so nobody said anything until they had been called to court to give their statements about what they knew regarding the couple’s relationship. 

It was tiring, but they were at the last hearing now and it was very much clear that the divorce would be official and mostly in favor of Dahyun. The teacher had offered to let Jeongyeon keep their house and the car, so she would get the savings. Looking at it objectively, the judge had agreed that the teacher would be getting less out of it, but Dahyun’s lawyer argued that the teacher was already looking at new properties and had found a few she liked, so she didn’t want to keep the house, and didn’t feel comfortable putting the older woman on the street so they would sell the property and split it between them.

Why do all that? Well, Dahyun did want to purchase her own place in Jihyo’s neighborhood, one of the small and more affordable houses on the other side. Plus, giving up more than she wanted to keep would appeal to the judge and grant her the advantage. Jihyo did offer to pay out the house and have her friend pay the money back slowly later, but if Dahyun was getting the savings, she would have enough for a downpayment and to make a payment plan that would fit well into her budget. Things were going quite well and looking great for Kim Dahyun, who was looking to be a single woman soon enough.

Speaking of our favorite grump, Jihyo was all healed up. She had taken a step back definitively and found that supervising her juniors wasn’t so bad after all. That meeting back there was to tell her that there might be another plan for her in the works, but secretary Kim would need a while to have everything clear before disclosing everything. Our main couple was also in the middle of something, their marriage had been just a friendship where they had to be the poster couple for the public. Sunmi’s reputation skyrocketed after the shooting, Prime Minister Kwon also did his part and hyped her up discreetly.

“You can just say it, you know?” Sunmi prompts as she closes the door behind her.

“Say what?” Jihyo doesn’t take her eyes from her book.

“Whatever it is you’ve been mulling over.” The older woman clarified as she settled in bed.

Dahyun was still living with them ,so Jihyo and Sunmi were still sharing a room. The teacher had been very worn out lately, the whole divorce process was a lot, and Jeongyeon had been a special kind of lately, going as far as barging into the station to demand that Jihyo allowed her into the neighborhood to meet her wife. Jeongyeon learned she didn’t like jail that night.

“Well, I’ve been thinking it’s time we get divorced too.”

“Why this so sudden?”

“It’s not really sudden, though? We both knew this would come to an end at some point, and you know as well as I do that your heart is already with someone else.”

“You noticed that, huh?” Sunmi huffed and squirmed further into bed.

“Are you certain you were even trying to hide it?” Jihyo chuckled.

“Fair enough. But now is a terrible time, and I don’t think I should be getting into another mess regardless.” The older sighs.

“I’m not saying to just go in headfirst and spoil everything as you usually do!” The detective gets fairly slapped at that. “But really, I think we should begin our divorce proceedings.”

“With our prenup, it should go smoothly.” Sunmi agreed. “Plus, I’ve been meaning to get my own place for a while now. Things just got delayed.”

“How about you take the day off tomorrow and we’ll go around looking for places that you might like? I’m off for the week because of the hearings anyway.”

“That sounds good.” The taller woman agreed. “Plus, I’m sure you want to go back to your usual routines.” 

“It’s not like there was much going on regardless.” The younger one made herself comfortable, getting ready to sleep. “But we’ll think of something to break it to the public. And we’ll spin a sob story so that everyone can adore you that much more.”

Sunmi chuckled, but said nothing else. Yes, she had already drifted away from Jihyo as a whole, no point insisting on this poster relationship just for the sake of their public images. And Sunmi wasn’t dumb, she saw that Prime Minister Kwon had, at least, met her wife before, she was sure the man would help sell the tragic ending to their marriage. Jihyo had already received notice from her ‘support group’, telling her to bring up getting divorced and get the ball rolling. The plans have changed, and it would be safer (and easier) for Jihyo to not be in a relationship for the next step.

Jihyo’s family was already in on it all, mr Ko had updated them after their last meeting, the previous week, things had taken a bit of a turn after Chungha’s confession, there was turmoil bubbling in the wrong side of society and Jihyo was in more danger than before, it would be best if she just left the country, but this wasn’t revealed to her yet. Not that the detective hadn’t connected the dots herself, this was mostly the reason she had encouraged Dahyun to get her own place, and the reason she was pinching the idea of just divorcing Sunmi already, they did pass the one year mark their prenup had determined.

With the divorce proceedings coming to a close, Dahyun was free to buy her new place without it being included in the shared property. The teacher had been given the all clear from her lawyer, the man guaranteed that the judge had already accepted her terms and granted her the division she had proposed. Dahyun did get one of the houses she had looked at a while before and the renovations she had asked for would be done in a couple of days. With that, we have the pale woman pulling up with a moving truck to Jihyo’s place, she had stored most of her things at her parent’s, and the basic furniture she would need had been delivered not long before.

“Oh, you are the stereotype now?” Jihyo joked when her friend got out of the vehicle.

“Shut up and help me get the stuff from your garage to the truck.” Dahyun scolded.

“Sure, but let me get the cars out of the way first. Sunmi should arrive soon to help out too.”

Once the detective comes out with both car keys, the teacher helps parking the cars a bit further down the street. Then, Dahyun backed the truck up to the garage door so they could load things easier, it didn’t take long and Jihyo had been proven correct when she insisted on getting the little furniture cart with the truck. Sunmi arrived when they were almost done loading the truck, but insisted on securing everything, she was weirdly good at just knowing if something was secured or not, like intuition or something, she just looked at it and knew if it would fall or not.

“Alright, we are ready to go.” The older woman declared after a while. “Jihyo, can you park the cars back and then meet us there?”

“Will do. Just rest a bit when you get there, I’ll take a few minutes to find Ppuyo and give him his medicine before going.”

“Sure thing!” The younger one saluted and headed to the truck.

Ppuyo had been very sick for a while now. Jihyo had been told by the veterinarian that it was some sort of genetic condition, his joints were getting stiff and he started having trouble breathing. Honestly, Jihyo knew it was just a matter of time by now and she was just trying to make her baby the most comfortable during his last days. It was sad, but she knew there wasn’t much to be done at this point, except making sure he had the best she could provide. Plus, Jihyo needed a few moments for herself after she had to give him his medication. She hated having to give him a shot three times a day, it broke her heart, but she knew it was for the best.

“You alright there, love?” Dahyun asked when her friend arrived.

“I’m alright. It looks like it will be any day now.” Jihyo said defeatedly.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Sunmi offered and pulled the other woman into a hug.

Dahyun joins the hug and they stay like that for a while. Jihyo doesn’t cry, she had done that when she first heard the diagnosis and the estimated time her baby had left. 

“Alright.” Jihyo breaks the hug, clearing . “Let’s get this over with. We should, at least, get the big furniture to the right rooms today.”

They all get to work, it’s fairly comfortable. Dahyun and Sunmi were taking the heavier items together, and Jihyo, the strongest one for obvious reasons, would take big pieces that didn’t actually need two people. It was sunset when they finished, everything was already in their specific rooms and what was left was Dahyun unboxing things and putting them in their places. Jihyo was actually very skilled in assembling furniture, so everything was also put together by the time they were done. Sunmi was half dead and laying on the kitchen floor, the detective chuckled when she saw it and decided to order some food, Dahyun was also visibly tired and nobody was in the mood to get back to Jihyo’s and cook after the day they had.

Sunmi was also moving out, she would get her new apartment by the end of the week. The interior designer said everything was done and asked the politician to send in her personal items so they could be placed around the house before declaring the project complete. Jihyo was hearing a few rumors going on about her getting recruited for something big soon, her divorce was going smoothly and would be finalized soon as well. Things would take another turn, but Park Jihyo was someone who never had anything going according to plan, she was used to thinking on her feet and adapting to whatever life threw at her.

And maybe, if the rumors are true, this could be another chance for Jihyo to turn her life around and actually catch a break. It will be a bit of a shock for everyone, and quite a drastic change, but it will be good. At least Jihyo won’t have to stick around and see it happening yet again.