Chapter 58. Found

“Hello, Appa?” Joohyun clutched the phone in her hand tighter when her heart drummed in her chest.

“Joohyuna, we found Euna…”

Her knees weakened in relief that she just have to close her eyes in a silent thankful prayer for her little girl.

“A couple who own a noodle shack found her wandering on the streets last night but because of the weather they couldn’t bring her to the police station right away.”

“Is she okay? What does she look like? Is she hurt? Where is she now?” She shot the questions when the line went silent. Her voice was wobbly with emotion she could not even define— probably relief and elation.

“I sent a car to the police station so they’re on their way here. Yonghwa’s mother and brother are with her now.”

“Okay… thank God,” Joohyun took another deep sigh knowing her father was doing all he could to help Yonghwa and his family. Not only for the sake of helping but he was doing it more for her. Her gaze fell on the closed door of the adjoining bathroom, “I will tell Oppa. We will drive back there tonight.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.” Her appa responded almost thoughtfully, “According to reports, some of the roads are closed off because of the weather. This is the strongest storm we have in years.”

She closed her eyes and nodded. Joohyun didn’t really think they would spend the whole night in this room. “All right, as long as Euna is okay. Can you call me as soon as they get there? I want to talk to Euna.”

“I will call you as soon as they’re here,” he reiterated.

“Thank you so much, Appa,” she smiled as if her father could see her. The tears were now gathering on the sides of her eyes.

“Stop worrying now. I told you everything is okay.”

“Uh-huh…” she sniffed.

“Don’t cry, Joohyun. Euna’s okay. The couple who took her in are good people. She was never cold and hungry in their care.”

“I can’t help it, Appa. I love her so much.”

“I know, darling, and you will see your little girl tomorrow. For now, you and Yonghwa take a good rest.”

“Okay,” she nodded again. It was a relief too that her Euna was taken cared of since she couldn’t even imagine the idea of her being harmed. That brought more tears to her.

“I have to hang up now. I will call you soon. I love you, darling.”

“I love you too,” she wiped her tears when the call ended. Joohyun couldn’t put a name to this kind of happiness and she couldn’t wait to really see for herself that Euna was okay. Their prayers were answered— she was really safe and she was going back home.

That was all she could ever asked for and now she was more than excited to tell Yonghwa about the good news. Joohyun couldn’t wait for him to get out of the closed door and when it finally opened, she had forgotten her injury and she flew into his surprised arms.

Yonghwa stood frozen for a moment until he realized Joohyun was crying, “What happened?” He didn’t want to but he seemed to be expecting the worst.

“They found her, Oppa!” She extracted herself from him beaming despite the tears streaming down her cheeks, “Euna’s okay. They’re taking her home— I mean in our house first.”

For a moment, Yonghwa didn’t seem to process what she was saying until her hands grasped his shirt. It was then that he chuckled until he ended laughing like crazy pulling her closer on his chest. He cried, Yonghwa finally cried and she cradled him on her arms.

Joohyun smiled as she slowly slipped on the floor while she was still embracing him. “She’s okay…”

He dried his face before lifting his gaze to her and smiled. It was the second time he broke down on her but he didn’t really care, Joohyun understood her more than anybody did. “Thank you… for being here.” She nodded. A small vibration broke the silence and he stood taking his phone. It was his mother, “Umma.”

“Yonghwa, she’s here.”

“Joohyun told me. How is she? Is she okay? How does she look?”

“She’s okay. An old couple took her in when they saw her wandering on the streets. She was surrendered to the police station when the weather got a little better. They treated her well, our Euna, she didn’t get cold or hungry…”

“We will go back as soon as we can. Umma, I want to talk her, is she with you?”

“That’s the thing. She doesn’t want to go home yet that’s why we have to take her to Joohyun’s house. Yonghwa, we think she’s afraid that you’re angry because of what she did.”

Yonghwa shut his eyes for a moment. That was always Euna’s first reaction when she did something that she knew could upset him. He sighed, “Oh, umma… I’m not.”

“Give her time, when you come back here she’ll probably feel better and talk to you. She was frightened and regretful of what she did. She said she got scared when she could no longer recognize the streets she was on and wanted to go home but her phone’s battery died.”

He could only imagine what his little girl went through after her little trip to freedom. “Did she wander for long?”

“She said she did. The noddle house where she was found was around thirty-minute walk away according to the police. It’s also near an elementary school so nobody noticed that she was lost or alone. Euna said she was scared to talk to strangers so she didn’t ask anybody’s help.”

“She must have been very scare