Financial crime was just a unit made out of the smartest officers in the entire force, who worked like detectives and were paid as assistants. Some sort of fast track department to turn police officers into inspectors in less time, some would go out to become detectives, like Jihyo, others would stay and keep climbing the ranks faster. It was also a mystery within the force as to how every single officer in that department was absurdly hot, they worked behind computer screens all day long, how were they all in better shape than street cops!

Mina, having kept in touch with her old friend, decided to ask Jihyo about it one day. Nayeon was also curious and had encouraged her new friend to go ahead and ask. Jihyo revealed that the entire department was required to do two daily hours of exercise, and it turned out that they had a lot of bodybuilders and former athletes, they were always so enthusiastic about working out that everyone else got excited with them and it turned out like that. This revelation inspired the two officers to start working out as well, but they would never reach that level of conditioning. Jihyo fit in quite well, everyone was very nice and receptive, it was the first place she was welcomed fully and honestly.

With the raise and the bonus for the promotion, Jihyo moved again, this time to a good apartment building, it even had an elevator, and she had two bedrooms. She could actually afford something nice for once, and she also decorated a home for herself for the first time. Jihyo never really had her own furniture, which was also a nice thing she could afford now. After getting her new place and furnishing it, Jihyo decided to start saving for a new motorcycle, a good one this time. Dahyun, as always, was very happy for her best friend, so much that she even showed up with a cactus as a housewarming gift. The younger woman’s reasoning was that it would be very difficult for Jihyo to kill it.

Speaking of Dahyun, she came up with a difficult request on her visit. Jihyo knew this might come up at some point, but she wasn’t as prepared as she wished when Dahyun asked her to go to her birthday celebration. Jihyo said yes, looking very pained, and Dahyun assured her she could back out at any point and it would be completely fine. The officer said she would show up, but wouldn’t promise to stay any length of time, which was agreed upon promptly. It was still two weeks away, but Jihyo was already prodding for gifts, she knew of a few things but wanted to confirm what Dahyun might have already gotten for herself.

Meanwhile, Jihyo got a call she never expected to. A lawyer, calling himself Ko Sejeong, reached out to her about her grandfather passing and listing her as his sole heir. Jihyo never got to know her grandfather, hell, she hardly remembered her parents, but this man was asking her to come and meet him so they could discuss paperwork and inheritance. Jihyo asked him to send her the death certificate, so she could properly file for a leave, not that her chief would mind, but she liked to do things the right way. The lawyer did and Jihyo was given three days off, she would need to go to Bucheon for this and would need the time to travel.

Jihyo had called the man back, saying she would arrive on the night train and get a hotel, but mr Ko told her that he would be waiting to bring her to the family property. It was weird, and it made absolutely no sense to the officer, but she agreed and quickly got a travel bag ready, having bought her tickets when her boss told her she could take the time off. arriving a bit past midnight, Jihyo thought the lawyer would have given up, but there he stood, in his nice suit and patiently waiting for her. Both greeted each other and the man guided her to his car. They drove out of town and into a closed neighborhood, the more they drove, the bigger the houses and Jihyo still wondered what did she have to do with any of this.

“Mr Ko?” Jihyo decides to ask.

“Yes, ms Park?”

“Why am I here? I really don’t think you have the right person.”

“We are quite sure we have the right person, but I’ll need you to do a little DNA test so I can make you the official heir.”

“Sir, I really do think you got the wrong person.”

“Everything will be explained soon. But you are the correct person, don’t worry too much. We’ll talk tomorrow morning.”

“Can I have something to eat when we get there? There wasn’t much on the train and I left as soon as I got out of work.” Jihyo asked shyly and quietly.

“Of course you can, I’ll have someone prepare something while you get cleaned up from the trip.” The man agreed promptly.

“Alright, thank you.”

“Nothing to thank me for, ms Park.”

Their conversation concludes as they get past some very imposing gates, Jihyo notes that this family’s name was Gok, very rare and very high class, if she was remembering it correctly. As Jihyo thought, she really wasn’t the person they were looking for at all, but she was already here and might as well grant this lawyer that DNA test he talked about, maybe then she would be out of these people’s radar and could go back to her normal life. For now, she would take a shower to get this travel gunk out, eat some fancy food and sleep on a nice bed.

The next morning came and Jihyo, as her inner clock demanded, was up at seven. She didn’t know what to do from there and decided to wash up and change before anything else. She was also glad to have packed her nice jeans and the best shirts she owned. Sure, she will look like a bum near these people, but it was the best she could offer. Remembering the way to the kitchen, Jihyo decided to just go down and see if she could get something to eat, only to find there was already a maid waiting for her outside her door. She felt bad for making the woman stand there for so long and apologized, to which she was told not to worry about.

This place was huge, and there were people in the dining room, seemingly, waiting for her to arrive. Jihyo apologized again for making them wait, but the old lady at the head of the table just waved her off and told her to take a seat. There was also a middle aged man and a woman who looked about his age as well. Who were these people! Regardless, Jihyo was hungry, so she had something to eat, and apparently it wasn’t up to the old woman’s tastes, who insisted she ate more, going as far as placing more food on her plate herself. Mr Ko showed up as they were finishing breakfast, saying he could wait, but the old woman said they were done, saving Jihyo from having to actually finish the ridiculous plate the woman had made for her. 

“Will you agree that you have the wrong person now, mr Ko?” Jihyo asked as the lawyer closed the door.

The old woman had asked for everyone to move to the office so they could talk freely.

“I will have to insist that you are the right person, ms Park.” The man chuckles.

“Now, child, have a seat and let Sejeong tell you a bit about yourself.” The old woman commands from behind the desk.

“Thank you, mrs Gok. Now, ms Park, I will begin with asking you to tell me about your parents.” The lawyer began, everyone else remained silent but paying attention.

“I can’t tell you much.” Jihyo shrugs. “To be very honest, I don’t even know my father’s face. He was never around and I only remember hearing him late at night. I think I was five when he stopped showing up at all. My mother put me in daycare as son as she could, I learned to walk to and from by myself and the teachers helped me shower and do my laundry at school. Before that she would drop me in front of it early in the morning, and I would sit by the door until someone got there.”

Jihyo could already see how the others were getting emotional, but this was just her life story, it already happened and it was useless to waste their time feeling for it. So she continued.

“I think child services were called rather often, but as nobody was ever home, it was useless. Mother would show up once a week and hand me some money after I learned to walk by myself. I was also helped by the old lady who ran the convenience store with groceries, she always gave me something extra. I didn’t know back then, but ten thousand won was far from enough to feed a child for a week.”

“Sejeong, you know what to do about this.” The middle aged man said, tears already staining his face.

“There’s no need to do anything, it already happened, don’t stress yourself over me.” Jihyo dismissed, but she knew the man wouldn’t back down. “Anyhow, there were also times when I ran out of food for the week. Some weeks I was hungrier and thought mother would give me some more money if I asked, so I ate more. Turns out, she wasn’t returning to that house either, so I had nobody to ask for anything, and even as a child I knew the old lady couldn’t give me more food either, I needed to give her the money for it.”

Everyone was already crying by that point, even mr Ko, but Jihyo went on, she was still just starting to tell her story. And, for the second time in her life, people were actually listening to what she had to say.

“The teachers always gave me bigger portions for the meals the school supplied, but the other kids started getting angry about that. You can’t expect a bunch of four year olds to understand that some people need a bit more, so I’d often eat before going home in the nurse’s office. It was easier and I would have two meals a day, at least.”

“And how long did you live like that for?” The woman asked.

“I had to stay in that house until I finished middle school. Nowhere would rent for someone younger than a highschooler, so I had to wait. I did start working when I got to middle school, though. The old lady at the convenience store would pay me to clean the floors and organize the shelves, nothing too hard, but enough to justify the little money she could give me. It was enough to pay for the energy and gas bills, my parents stopped paying for those when I got to middle school too.”

“How could anybody do that to a child and think nothing of it!” The old lady raged, the others seemed to agree with her.

“Please, don’t concern yourself with me that much. Now, when I got to highschool, I managed to find an apartment where they asked no questions as long as the money was on time. A bit shady, but it was all I could get back then. I also got a scholarship in a good school and a job that would give me enough to pay for rent and electricity, thankfully they didn’t charge me for gas, as I really didn’t use much of it. When I moved to that apartment I took everything I had, it wasn’t much, but I took all my documents and swore I would never look at their faces again.”

“We know you got a scholarship for college and was able to transfer it back to Seoul. We also know you graduated two years early and decided to join the police force.”

“Yeah, I got my law degree and passed the bar exam, but I knew I didn’t have the name nor the connections to get anywhere above a public defendant. So I opted to become a police officer, where I could get high enough to actually make a difference, even if only a small one.”

“You’ve had a hard life, kid.” The man says, drying his tears. “You can stop suffering now.”

“I’m sorry, mister, but I don’t even know you people. And I’m certain I’m not the one you are looking for.”

“Park Narae.” The man responds. “Her and I had a few wild nights back in college. She was an older woman who often showed up at the bar I went to with my friends. She also never told me she was already married back then.”

“That was my mother’s name, yes. But what do you mean ‘had wild nights’?”

“Have you ever wondered why you never saw the man you thought was your father?” He continues.

“Not really, but I never saw either of them, and all I wanted was to leave that place and not think about them again.”

“That’s good too. But that man knew you weren’t his kid, though he didn’t know exactly who, he knew you weren’t his.”

“Makes sense. Plus, I always had a feeling that house wasn’t really their home. There were never any decorations or photographs, or anything that would point to that house being lived in at all.”

“Regardless, we’ll need a DNA test, but I’m quite certain you are exactly who we believe you are.” The woman says with a smile. “You look exactly like your grandfather when he was young.”

“Speaking of which, the lab technician has just sent me a message announcing their arrival. I’ll go and greet them by the door.” Mr Ko announces and leaves.

“Let us introduce ourselves, then.” The old lady suggested. “I’m Gok Ahin, my late husband was Gok Jiho.”

“Close enough.” Jihyo chuckled and the others followed.

“I’m Gok Jiyoo and this is my wife, Gok Chinsun.” The man, Jiyoo, introduced. His wife nodded kindly.

“It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Park Jihyo, but I think you all know that.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jihyo. We are very happy to have found you.” Ahin says just as the doors open again.