Three days later, Jihyo got a message from an unknown number. The person introduced herself as Kim Dahyun and asked if they could meet up for a coffee to discuss Yoo Jeongyeon. Sure, the recruit was intrigued, but she did warn the woman she didn’t have any money, and was told she could just show up, no need to worry about money. As last time rendered her poor, Jihyo was suspicious, but agreed when she received the address for a coffee shop not too far from her apartment. She waited outside, trauma from last friday and the whole it caused in her bank account, and a small, pale woman approached her. Kim Dahyun was prettier than her profile picture.

“You look taller in your picture, but just as beautiful.” Dahyun commented as they sat down with their drinks.

“Thanks.” JIhyo referred to the compliment and the drink. “You are prettier in person, though.”

“Aren’t you a smooth talker.” There was a light blush appearing. “But we came here to talk about Yoo Jeongyeon.”

“Yeah, that one.” The anger was clear in her voice.

“Can you tell me about your relationship with her?”

“You the girlfriend?” Jihyo narrowed her eyes.

“Not yet, but we have been going out.” Dahyun answers calmly. “Look, I’m not here to do the whole angry girlfriend shtick. I just saw your name flashing on her screen too many times, and the texts told me she was hiding something, so I took a chance when she went to the bathroom and forgot her phone to find out the truth myself.”

“Where would you like me to start?” It was the first time anyone wanted to hear Jihyo, so she conceded easily.

“How about you tell me a little about yourself then tell me how you both met.” Dahyun smiles kindly, making herself comfortable to listen.

And so Jihyo does, she tells this woman everything, from how she would go to the bakery in the mornings to when she was stood up the previous friday and what it had done to her finances. Dahyun listened to everything, both women finding shelter in the other. Their meetups became a constant, Jihyo would feel bad about having Dahyun pay for her each time, but was told that it was a pleasure, and if she felt so bad about it, the younger would take a personal story as payment. And that was how Dahyun became a true friend to Jihyo. She listened, honestly cared, wasn’t interested in anything more than just spending a few hours together and talking about themselves.

Jihyo was a great listener as well, and someone easy to open up to, she was very honest and truly paid attention to everything Dahyun would say, committing it to memory and bringing it back up when needed. Dahyun saw in Jihyo a pure soul that had been beaten down and tattered over and over again because she believed that giving someone a chance was the right thing to do, despite the red flags. When Dahyun first learned of what Jeongyeon was doing to this girl, she was pissed, they stopped seeing each other that week and she was still considering if she should give the older woman another chance.

“So, when are you going to be a real cop?” Dahyun asks in one of their ‘dates’.

“I think the graduation is friday? Or saturday morning, I’m not sure.” Jihyo answers nonchalantly.

“Wait, the day after tomorrow friday?”

“That would be the one, why?” 

“What do you mean ‘why’, you idiot!” Dahyun was angry, even smacked Jihyo in the head.

“Ouch! What am I getting this abuse for!”

“Why didn’t you say anything about it!”

“Because I didn’t think it was that important? I mean, it’s just the graduation from the academy. I’m just going to be a foot soldier after that, nothing fancy.” Jihyo didn’t see why this would be so important.

“Jih, I’m your friend. Of course it’s an important event and I want to be there for you!” Dahyun often forgot how the older woman was used to not considering anything about herself important.

“Why? Isn’t friday a day to go on dates or something? You don’t have to waste your time with something like a cadet graduation.” 

One thing that Dahyun will never get used to was how much Jihyo dismissed herself. It didn't matter what it was, she would dismiss it as nothing important and just move on. It hurt each time it happened, especially with things like this, a graduation should be something to celebrate, but Jihyo said it like it was just another day, like Dahyun was being bothered by the fact that her friend was even mentioning the event.

“Don’t think too much about it, Hyun.” Jihyo chuckled as she put a finger in the wrinkles that appeared on her friend’s forehead.

“Look, I’m coming to support you and there is nothing you can do about that. Just make sure to get me an invitation and tell me when and where it’s happening.”

“Alright.” The older sighs, she knows arguing is useless. “I’ll ask about it tomorrow and message you when I can.”

“Good.” Dahyun looks satisfied. “Just know that I WILL find you and I WILL smack you again if you so much try to not get me that invitation.”

“I know, I know. I’ll check it when I get there in the morning and should be able to tell you about it on my lunch break.”

After that, Dahyun spent the rest of their meetup asking about Jihyo’s graduation, how things were going and how she was liking finally getting to be a cop and all. Jihyo told her all about it, then asked about Dahyun’s students. She was teaching in a special needs school and was loving the experience. There had been this one kid who seemed to never understand that her mother wasn’t in the school and would cry whenever she asked for assistance and it was Dahyun who showed up, not her mother. It looked like the girl was beginning to accept Dahyun as someone she could count on. It was a very slow process but the younger woman loved every minute of it. 

Once friday rolled around, Dahyun showed up in a nice dress, nothing fancy as Jihyo insisted it wouldn’t be much, but she was thankful that she dressed up a little when she saw the other attendees. At that point, Jihyo had, somewhat, gotten her footing back and was managing to pay for their dates here and there. She didn’t tell Dahyun that she had gotten a night job to make up for the loss she had suffered, and cleaning office buildings wasn’t that demanding after the cadet academy. So Dahyun looked around and she found one woman who wasn’t dressed up either, she was with a cop, the uniform gave it away, and it got Dahyun thinking if Jihyo would be wearing a uniform too.

Jihyo was, indeed, wearing a uniform. All graduating recruits were given the formal uniform to wear for the occasion. She was waiting for Dahyun to arrive, wanting to guide her friend to her seat and also not wanting to stay with the other graduates who held grudges for various reasons. Dahyun was amazed, she knew her friend looked good, but seeing Jihyo in uniform made her feel things she didn’t know she wanted to admit to. Regardless, they talked a bit before everyone was asked to take their seats so the ceremony could start. The woman who was also not dressed up sat just beside Dahyun, she was short too, maybe a bit shorter, and looked perfectly fine with herself.

Everything was very formal, the officer Dahyun had seen with the woman beside her was standing to the side, some rolled up things on a platter beside her. She guessed those were the certificates and she was responsible for taking them to whomever was officiating this. Much to Dahyun’s surprise, Jihyo got three awards, one for completing the course in record time (she ended up graduating with the people from the class she was forced to join because of her hand), one for contributions to the police force (Dahyun will ask about that one later) and the last one for highest scoring overall. Impressive if you ask Kim Dahyun, but she was mad that her friend never said anything about these awards, heck, she wouldn’t even know about this ceremony if Jihyo hadn’t made an offhand comment.

With the awards, Jihyo was given little medals she could pin on her uniform. Which she did, but decided to leave them on her formal uniform. After everything was said and done, Jihyo made her way back outside to find Dahyun, they had agreed to go out for dinner to celebrate. What was unexpected was seeing Nayeon and Chaeyoung waiting too, they should have left if they had already met up, maybe Nayeon had a friend who was graduating as well. Regardless, Jihyo made her way to Dahyun, got scooped up in a tight hug and humbly accepted the praises she got, and also the smack for not mentioning the awards. Chaeyoung looked amused but carefully approached as well.

“Jihyo?” Chaeyoung called once she was close enough.

“Chaeyoung, it’s nice seeing you again.” Jihyo said cordially. “Nayeon. You look well.”

“Congratulations on your graduation.” Nayeon offers with a nod.

“Thank you.” The younger officer nods back.

“Nayeon said you would be graduating and I wanted to come and support you.” Chaeyoung interjects.

“Thank you, but there was no need.” Jihyo firmly dismisses. “It’s not that important and you shouldn’t have wasted your time with me like that.” 

Dahyun felt this was something she should let happen and talk to Jihyo about when they were alone later. Nayeon looked like she wanted to intervene but felt like it wasn’t her place. Chaeyoung just huffed, she knew this would be the answer but it didn’t make her any less frustrated. She remembers finding out Jihyo’s birthday because the older woman had dropped her library card and she saw it had been the day before, then was dismissed when she said they should celebrate.

“We must be on our way soon, or we’ll miss our reservation.” Dahyun decides to intervene.

“Right.” Jihyo quickly agreed, thankful for the way out. “Thank you both for the well wishes, but we must be on our way. Excuse us.”

Nayeon could only hold her fiance’s hand and shake her head, hoping it would be enough for Chaeyoung to let it go. Thankfully, she did and the other two went away. It didn’t help that Jihyo was clearly comfortable with this woman who had been there for her, and the couple had wanted to do something for the lonely woman but it seems that Jihyo was still not so willing just yet. It was alright, with Jihyo graduating top of her class and literally inventing something that would help investigations, she would be fast forwarded to policeman instead of starting as auxiliary police like all the others. Nayeon was assistant inspector, just two steps above, but she was on course to become detective, so she would be out of the common ranks soon.

In a nice and slightly out of the way tteokbokki and barbecue place a small walk from there, Jihyo and Dahyun had arrived at their destination. It was one of Dahyun’s favorite places, and they didn’t really need nor had a reservation, she had only said that to get out of there and Jihyo had expressed how grateful she was for the way out provided. The old lady behind the counter greeted them with a warm smile and Dahyun just gestured to the table they would be sitting at. Jihyo figured her friend was a regular and the woman already knew what would be ordered without being told. Jihyo just took the time to remove her jacket and her tie, puttin it in a jacket pocket and properly placing it on an extra chair. 

“I’m gonna take a wild risk and say you come here often.” Jihyo opens a conversation.

“Well, this was my place to come and despair about my tests back in college. The old lady took to talking to me and we became friends. She says I’m her granddaughter now.”

“That’s nice.” Jihyo smiles honestly. 

“Now, about these awards of yours.” The younger woman tries really hard not to laugh. “Why was I not told about them, missy?”

“I didn’t think they were that important. I didn’t even expect you to want to come to the ceremony, much less go out for dinner after.” 

“Well they are important, now start telling me about them.”

Dahyun said it so cokily that she couldn’t help but laugh herself. Jihyo laughed as well, the old lady came and brought their food, Dahyun introduced her new best friend and told the woman Jihyo had just become a cop earlier that evening, and the woman said it was a celebration, then took off to the kitchen saying she was making a cake, no matter how much Jihyo tried to stop her. The officer was told to shut up and just say thank you for the felicitations. 

Which she did, then proceeded to explain to Dahyun what the awards were about. It was quite simple, really, she got the best scores overall, breaking the previous records in all subjects. Jihyo pointed out that it was probably the scholarship student in her and Dahyun agreed it was likely that. With how great her grades were, she moved up in the program fast, being allowed to join the group above her batch and graduate faster. The last one, the contribution award, was an honest concern she had brought up during one of her lab classes. Jihyo pointed out that luminol could be optimized with a combination of certain substances that would react with blood at room temperature and make it look green.

When the instructor asked her to demonstrate, Jihyo merely mixed a few simple substances and demonstrated with the pig blood they had available for demonstrations. It was something she had thought about while reading her course materials, and it would make blood appear after it was wiped clean. True to her words, the thing worked almost instantaneously. Jihyo had smeared some blood on a tray, washed it off with soap, then sprayed her compound, making the places where the blood had been look like mold. The instructor asked her if she could write down the exact recipe and told her it was a breakthrough. Jihyo got to name it (Moldiol… She should never be allowed to name anything ever again) and was given a hefty offer to sell the rights.

The cake is brought out at some point, the old lady and Dahyun sing Jihyo their praises and then the night is over. The younger woman insists on walking her friend home, claiming it was time she found out where Jihyo lived. It wouldn’t be for long, however, Jihyo intended to move somewhere closer to her job once she was told which station she would be working at. Jihyo is called on monday morning and asked to present to central headquarters so she can be assigned to her unit. Things went fine, and Jihyo managed to get the afternoon off to look for a new place, she found one close enough to where she would be working and, after a quick review visit to the place, some repairs pointed out to the agent, she signed the contract and went home to start packing.

This move would do a lot of good, she would leave that apartment with so many bad memories. Jihyo told Dahyun about it and the younger woman said she was totally going to help and Jihyo didn’t need to hire movers because they could just take everything in her car. The older woman didn’t own much, and the furniture and appliances belonged to the landlord, she would need to buy everything anew if this new apartment didn’t have something. Jihyo also was alright with her new station, she had to take two buses from where she was then, but it was a twenty minute walk from her new place, where she would be moving to next weekend.