Many things change in seven years, another lot stays the same, but life certainly goes on and everyone moves forward. Jihyo kept in touch with a few of the former group, Dahyun obviously, but also Nayeon, Mina, Tzuyu, Sana and Chaeyoung. Sunmi got busier as she progressed in her career, and they didn’t talk that much, mostly through texts either side would answer when they got the time, but that was alright. 

Jihyo had fulfilled her role as a team leader and mentor to the youngsters in interpol brilliantly. It had become a real battle between applicants to make it into her team, and she developed a foolproof selection method; the entire organization adopted it once they saw how effective it was. She also released a lot of articles on investigative techniques and how to improve them, a few books on her investigation techniques, was acclaimed throughout europe for her contributions and had everyone she had ever worked with show up for her farewell party, even those who had been undercover at the time took a leave to go and see her out.

One might even say that Park Jihyo had the perfect end to a brilliant career. But it was time her father stopped working, and she was getting too old to keep doing what she did. Truth is, Jiyoo had fallen from the stairs as he stubbornly put the christmas lights on the roof and now his hip didn’t allow him to keep seated for long periods. The man was scolded by his wife, then by his daughter, both making undeniable points that he was too old to keep doing such things and should have let someone else do it. Ahin, Jihyo’s grandmother had passed two years after she had moved, she returned for the service but hadn’t met anyone back then.

Now, it was time to move again, but this time, Jihyo would be returning with many changes to who she used to be. It’s not like the ones she kept in touch with didn’t change either. Nayeon and Chaeyoung were expecting their second child, Mina and Tzuyu had a bright little girl and weren’t sure about another one yet. Sana had decided to get a divorce as well, her relationship with Momo wasn’t as bad as Dahyun and Jeongyeon, but she got to her breaking point when Momo, in her delusional world, was caught with another dancer from the studio she used to frequent and said it was alright because they were just letting off steam and it didn’t mean anything.

Dahyun and Sunmi did get together, much like Jihyo’s prediction, and were living at the politician’s apartment. They got officially married but still didn’t have a ceremony, mostly because Sunmi would need it to be another media show and Dahyun still wasn’t ready to be known nationwide. Jeongyeon seemed to come to her senses once she had nobody to be her scapegoat, being forced to face the damage she did to her own life. The woman went to therapy and worked out her problems, but still had a long way to go. She and Dahyun were peaceful now, no more animosity or hurt feelings between the two, which was great.

Once back in Korea, Jihyo didn’t really feel like returning to her old house, so she opted for the family penthouse in Bucheon. She would go back there and decide if she wanted to sell it or keep it at a later time, for now, this was best. She also had asked for her cars and the bike to be sold, while in London, she thought better of it and saw that it would be a bit pointless to keep those. Plus, Jihyo would be returning as the new CEO for the Goks, she knew a brand new and flashy car would be one of the things that would be expected of her upon return.

It seems poetic, if not a bit ironic that the person who first knew of her return was the one who saw her leave. Nayeon had been at the park with her daughter when she saw Jihyo sitting on a bench and looking at the water. They had been walking around and the, now, commissary saw a lone figure sitting close to the area they were heading. There were a few children and what looked like a teen playing in the swings, so she told little Jisoo to go and see if she could make some friends to play together and took a second to prepare herself. 

“You little !” Turns out, it was her prodigal friend and Nayeon pounced.

Jihyo, obviously, had seen someone approach her and got ready to defend herself if need be. She slid off the bench and twisted herself, taking position right behind her attacker, making the other one miss the target and fall onto the bench. Nayeon hurt her knee, having landed right on it, and let out a very disgruntled yelp, next thing she knew, she was pinned down against the bench and hurting all over.

“ALRIGHT!” The older woman shouted. “Alright. I’m sorry.”

“You’ve always been reckless.” Jihyo chuckled, she recognized her friend the moment she slid off the bench. “I thought you learned back in the academy that you should not just follow your impulses with me.”

“MOM!” The teenager who was close to the swings had come running. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Binnie.” Jihyo chuckled. “This idiot here is Im Nayeon.”

“Oh, we’ve heard a lot about you.” The boy straightened up. “I’m Changbin.”

“All good things, I hope.” Nayeon looks utterly confused. “It’s nice to meet you, kiddo.”

“Binnie, can you go and check on your sister? You know how she gets nervous when worried.” Jihyo was looking past the boy towards the swings. “I’ll be here talking to Nayeon.”

“Oh, can you eye my kid too?” Nayeon asks shyly. “She’s the one with the bright green pants and the neon pink coat.”

“Ah, little Jisoo!” He knows immediately. “Sure thing, Yuna liked her a lot, they are playing together.”

“Thanks!” The older woman looks relieved.

“Call me when you want to go and eat something.” The former detective waves him off.

“Mom?” Nayeon questions the moment the boy is out of earshot. “What haven’t you been telling me?”

“Honestly? Quite a lot.” Jihyo shakes her head and sits back down, motioning for the older woman to sit too.

It takes a while for Nayeon to talk again. Jihyo knew to let her take her time and put her thoughts in order before speaking up. The woman did get bombarded with a lot of new and unexpected information. Plus, the older one was still trying to absorb how much her friend had changed. Sure, Jihyo had always been pretty, but time did her so well. She looked mature and peaceful, that kind of serenity that comes with age and experience. Her hair had grown a lot, she did leave with a long bob, and seemed to have given up on contacts, her glasses were subtle but fit her face just right. Jihyo also had a few tattoos poking out from her short sleeves, and boy, Nayeon remembered just why this woman had always made her consider breaking her vows.

“You have kids now?”

“Yeah, a lot happened and I ended up with them.”

“Imma need a bit more.” Nayeon huffed indignantly.

“Their mother, well their other mother, was a colleague of mine. She had Changbin already and we became great friends. Hyerim was a forensic specialist, I’d dare say the best in the field, and since my job there was mostly teaching, I didn’t really have many late nights.”

“I’m guessing you were just being your lovely self and then she fell for you?”

“Yes and no. We lived in the same twin home, we literally shared a wall. And working together, I offered to take care of Binnie whenever she had to work late.” Jihyo smiles at the memory. “One thing led to another, and she finally trusted me enough to tell me her tale. It was about a week after I’d told her about myself.”

“Well, don’t leave me hanging.”

“Hyerim had two tumors in her brain, she knew she was a ticking time bomb and told me I was the best person to trust her son with.”
 

“What about the girl, then?”

“Well, Yuna is mine. We got her through some fancy modern techniques that I didn’t really care to learn about. Hyerim wanted a second child and I didn’t mind. We married so that there wouldn’t be any contestation about me taking over everything and keeping the kids. She passed away when Yuna was about six months old.”

“You never did get too lucky with relationships.” Nayeon pulls her friend into a hug.

“Well, she did love me for the short time we were together. But we both knew there wasn’t a way to predict when it would happen. Regardless, now I have those two lovelies.” Jihyo’s smile is happy, but very lonely.

“I’m glad you got to be loved like you deserve.” The older woman is very honest.

“It was the best experience of my life. Maybe on par with Yuna’s birth and the first time Changbin called me mom.”

“How old is your little girl, by the way?”

“Yuna is five. Hyerim and I moved fast, but taking her situation under consideration, it wasn’t hasty at all. Changbin is thirteen, though.”

“Oh, Jih.” Nayeon squeals and squishes her friend in a hug. 

The older woman was never one for being discreet, so the kids decide to investigate why the weird old lady was squealing like a capybara in labor. Changbin was very amused, he could see his mother’s desperation to get out of there, Jisoo was used to her mother’s behavior, so she just laughed and hugged her new friend, Yuna was happy to receive the hug and could see her mother wasn’t in danger, so she just waited until things calmed down.