It was a hard few weeks, Jihyo got the divorce finalized, Sunmi had moved out completely, Dahyun had settled into her new home, and the transfer was in progress. She managed, her therapist was used to things being heavy and had also told her to go to the psychiatrist and review her medication too. Ppuyo, bless his soul, passed away a few days ago. Jihyo had been gathering the courage to actually go ahead with putting him down, but one night he dragged himself to her bed, who knows how, laid by her feet and then he was gone. She woke up with the weight she hadn’t felt in so long, only to see he had rested.

It’s been a bit difficult, so much so that our favorite grump even agreed to meet up with the group, just to not be alone at home. Sure, she could go and spend some time with her family, but she was packing to move and the date was drawing near, so it wasn’t like Jihyo could just go without finishing up what she had to do. Also, it was Nayeon’s birthday celebration, and she knew she had to show up, at least. Plus, it would also be the first event Dahyun and Jeongyeon would attend after the divorce, despite everything, Jihyo wanted to be there for her friend.

The former detective had already wrapped up her baby, making sure to oil all the parts generously, pushing the bike against the back wall of her garage and covering it tightly after disconnecting the battery. It was safer to leave it disconnected. Her big car was also already prepared to be left behind, and she really didn’t mind using the mini, now that Dahyun had fully moved and got a car of her own. She made her way to the place Nayeon had texted her, thankfully it was a pub, getting in quite quickly and heading straight to the bar, Jihyo really didn’t like drinking and now she had honestly just lost the will to drink at all anymore. 

“I’m happy you made it.” Nayeon said honestly when she hugged her friend.

“It’s alright, I have something for you.” Jihyo smiled as best as she could, handing over an envelope.

“Thank you, you didn’t need to.” The older woman hastily puts the envelope in her chest pocket and hugs the other once more.

“I wanted to.” The younger mumbled shyly. “Listen, I might just go at some point, so no offense, alright?”

“None taken, I know it took you a lot to come and I’m really happy that you did.” Nayeon said gently and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Ever since the day Jihyo was bored out of her mind and decided to talk to Nayeon, both started talking more and getting closer. Not that they were besties, but Jihyo would say they were really friends at this point. Things were also quite alright with Chaeyoung and Sana, the two didn’t really have any animosity with Jihyo but weren’t close either, right now they were decent, at least. Mina was just happy that the detective was talking to her again, the others, well, they’d take what they got. Except Jeongyeon, that one was more of a nightmare than ever but the detective was meeting her each step.

Dahyun arrived not long after with Sunmi, both had been spending more time together. Jihyo was honestly happy that they would have each other once she is gone, and it would hurt a lot less when they got together in the future. The problem with seeing everything was that Jihyo already knew when to expect the news of her ex-wife and her best friend getting together officially. Now, she sipped on her cranberry juice and made small talk here and there, with Nayeon being chief, there were a lot of officers milling around the pub. Jihyo knew many of them and took the time to catch up with some she hadn’t seen in a while.

It was overall a nice evening, but Jihyo saw Dahyun and Sunmi take a table towards the back, not that they were actually doing much, or anything at all, and took it as her sign to leave. Sure, she knew things were yet to spark between those two, but she couldn’t just ignore what she was seeing. Despite having made her peace with how things were, it didn’t mean she wasn’t hurting about them at all. Jihyo left silently, just taking a moment to text Nayeon she had left before starting her car and leaving. 

As the day drew closer, Jihyo had less and less to do. She did go down to visit her family at their home, spent a few days allowing her grandmother to pamper her and her parents to over-worry. It was nice, and she would be unable to return anytime soon. The former detective also decided to get the group together for a farewell dinner, she rented out a large private room in a good restaurant and told them to meet her there. It could have been her house, but she had already put plastic over almost everything and didn’t want it to get dirty now. 

“To Jihyo, good luck on your new journey!” Dahyun decided to toast with teary eyes.

“To the best detective Korea has seen, may this new position allow you to spread your wings further.” Mina added. Despite everything, she was still a huge supporter.

“That you may shine your light all over the world.” Chaeyoung contributed.

“Don’t forget us, my friend. But do know you’ve always made us proud.” Nayeon finished with the warmest smile.

They toast, everyone has a bittersweet feeling about it. Jihyo, however, knows she’ll kind of miss this, but is very happy to be granted a fresh start. It’s kind of late in life, for korean standards, but she isn’t forty yet, and she has plenty of time before her father actually steps down and she has to take over the family business. It was a pleasant evening, even with everything that was going on. They leave with promises of keeping in touch. Three days later, Nayeon is driving Jihyo to the airport and hugging her goodbye with the ugliest crying face the older woman had ever produced.