I stand in front of the door, suddenly doubting my decision that I made.

Should I? Should I not?

After listening to Sunmi’s findings clearly, the gravity of what happened and what will happen as a result dawned on me much more clear than before.

“The owner of the book is involved in corruption,” Sunmi told me in a hushed whisper. “That account book recorded everything and where the dirty money went.”

I was silent, stunned by this new discovery.

That implies that…Hanbin’s father is corrupted.

“Are you sure?” I frowned in disbelief. “I don’t think so.”

“Trust me.”

“I don’t believe you,” I refused her statement. “You must have misunderstood something along the way.”

“Listen to me, Youngmi,” she said over my uncontrollable giggling. “That book is insurance for the man involved. If it gets taken away…then he loses his leverage over the other people involved. I don’t know exactly what’s happening but something is going on. Something shady.”

I rubbed my eyebrows, frustrated. “Is it possible there is another explanation to this?”

“It could,” Sunmi said slowly but she added sadly, “But it might not be what you’re looking for.”

If all that is true, did I just lose an evidence that might put Hanbin’s father to jail?

Sunmi continues to drawl on but I lose track of her words.

***

I enter the bustling office apprehensively. I am waiting for someone to catch the sight of me and ask me why I’m here but surprisingly, nobody does.

The office workers continue to work diligently in their respective desks as I stand near the doorframe. Finally, someone approaches me.

I feel braver now since the conversation is ignited by someone else.

“Excuse me,” he says, looking at me curiously.

“I’d like to—” I start, fearing that once I let this moment go, I won’t be able to tell the truth anymore.

“Can you please move over? There’s a sofa over there for you to sit on,” he says, gesturing for me to move aside to make space for him.

“Oh,” I reply, crestfallen.

I glance around the office, searching for a friendly face. The closest person that matches this description is an old grey-haired man sitting alone in his big office in the corner. I walk to the office and knock on the door.

“I told you I don’t want visitors,” he says, irritated. Well, his personality is definitely different than what I thought he would be. He looks up at me and appears surprised. “I thought you were my secretary…can I help you with something?”

When I struggle to speak, he glances at his watch impatiently.

“I read in an article that you were leading the trial for…that…er corrupted company who managed to put tons of their workers in prison.”

He eyes me back as if I’m a strange being.

“You mean the KANE Company?” he says, raising his eyebrow.

“Yeah, you…you…you…” I stutter when I see him folding his arms across his chest. “You represent the workers, right? The wronged?”

“You don’t know if they’re wronged though,” he states clearly. “Do you believe that they’re the victims?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be defending them?” I ask, angry by this lawyer’s careless reply. “Why are you saying that?” Is this really the guy who is tasked to save my parents and their colleagues?

“I’m trying to figure out who you are,” he says, pushing his chair back and standing up to look at the view. “What do you want, lady?”

 “I need to tell you something about what I found out.”

“What can you possibly know that I don’t?”

***

When I return to the hospital, I am greeted by a man with a frown etched on his face.

“Youngmi!” he shouts, marching towards me before aggressively pulling me into the building. “You’re not supposed to leave the hospital!”

I don’t fight as he leads me in and stands guard in front of my door for the rest of the night.

***

Hanbin’s POV

“Okay! That’s good! Let’s try it again,” I shout to my members, clapping my hands to get their attention. Our manager walks in and points towards the door.

“Manager hyung, is there something we can do for you?” Jinhwan asks when he continuously his head towards the door.

“There’s a phone call for you, Hanbin,” manager hyung says before walking out.

“Alright. Five minutes break everyone!” I exclaim, following him out of the dance room. “What’s up, hyung?”

“Your mother called.”

“Oh? Really?” I take the phone from his hand and dial my mom’s number.

The phone rings for a few minutes and I tap my toes impatiently.

“Aigo, thank you, manager!” my mum says through the phone once she picks up. “Did you tell Hanbin I called?”

“It’s me, mum,” I tell her. I wonder what she has to tell me that she called my manager for it. “Mum, I’m busy. We’re practising. What do you want to tell me?”

“Your father’s lawyer called…” My ears perk up.

“And then?”

“He said there’s a letter for you.”

“From dad?”

“I’m not sure…but he said it was from someone you know. Can you pick it up when you’re free? I’m busy with Hanbyul.”

“Did he say anything else?” I ask for more information. “Are you sure the letter isn’t from dad? Who else do I know that would send a letter to me through the lawyer?”

“I don’t know, Hanbin. You better get back to training.”

***

Training finishes late and everybody heads home.

“Ya, Hanbin, let’s go home,” Yunhyeong says, putting his arm around me.

“Ah, I think I’m staying longer,” I tell him, showing him a regretful expression. “I have an idea for a song.”

“Alright, don’t overwork yourself!” they say as one by one, they leave me in peace.

The silence brings me to a floor I have been visiting a lot recently.

I slump down in the room, wondering the occupant has gone. Where did Youngmi go?

She just suddenly disappeared without a trace. Did something happen?

The door cracks open and I receive a goofy grin from Bobby.

 “Did you get anything from anyone?” I ask him. He takes a seat beside me on the cold, hard floor. “Nobody seems to know what happened.”

“No news from the people I know either.” He sighs. “Do you think she left YG?”

“I don’t really know.”

We sit there beside each other, deep in thought of the various possibilities.

I can only pray that she found somewhere better and nothing bad happened to her.