∞∞∞∞∞

Right after Chorong withdrew some money for her Namjoo instantly hurried back to the highrise apartment. A flux of thoughts scurried across her mind when she walked through the threshold.  She had lived here for a year. How could she? The fact was haunting.

Who was Oh Sehun?

She hated to admit it, but knowing that scared her. Right now she was more frantic than anything else. She didn’t know him, had no clue why he came for her at the hospital, this stranger she had shared a home with. Dropping onto knees before her drawer she again, took momentarily deep breaths to remain calm. She needed to leave and that was priority above all else.

It didn’t matter that this life had been a lie. What mattered was that she had been kept here away from her home in Wonju, away from her fiancé. It was ruined. Her life was ruined. So many things were crashing down on her all at once.

Just a year ago she was a wanted person. Now, she had to run again because she didn’t know this person that had claimed her or what he wanted from her. She couldn’t trust him.

That inner voice belted out a scream again. It frustrated her. How could she…here?!

She would only need a few things. Several pieces of clothing. Money was the most important. Her heart shot through the roof when her phone rang. Namjoo nearly doubled over from shock before discovering her phone on the vanity. Scurrying toward it she stared at the caller ID before answering.

It was Chorong.

“I’ve a flight to Haenam,” she explained, “there’s been suspicious activity down there. I’ll meet you at the airport.”

No less than five minutes later Namjoo was prepared to leave this home that was never hers. Grabbing her phone again she went through her call log and deleted Chorong’s number. She wouldn’t risk being found if reported missing. There was no doubt something very suspicious was going on here.

Leaving her phone behind she walked out the door with the determination of never returning.

∞∞∞∞∞

The airport was very crowded that afternoon. Spotting Chorong wasn’t a very difficult task. The plane was quick to fly off once they got on.

“What’s good in Haenam?” Namjoo asked.

A printed article landed on her lap and Chorong explained while she skimmed it over, “A reporter visited the county, went to a very interesting place recommended by the kids. Say the barn is haunted. It’s become a popular attraction.”

“How is this linked to Joonmyun?” Namjoo frowned.

“You believe in ghosts?” Chorong asked.

“I don’t know,” Namjoo replied, “maybe.”

Chorong scoffed, “I don’t. There’s no way this barn is inhabited by a ghost. If Joonmyun was on the run, don’t you think he would run as far away as possible? Haenam is a farming county all the way down south, popular for its agriculture. Perfect place for a criminal to blend in with the friendly villagers. No one would be suspicious.”

“What about the favor I asked?” Namjoo wondered.

“There’s a federal agent deployed down south, he’ll have what you need ready for you,” Chorong promised.

Namjoo felt overwhelmed by anxiety. Things had to go as planned. If Joonmyun was really down in Haenam, they would again, be criminals. Glancing at Chorong through the corner of her eyes she prayed that she had trusted the right person.

Park Chorong had been a friendly gal, strong headed and brave. They first met on an assignment and had worked together to escape an ambush. Namjoo believed they’d gotten close after grabbing lunch and coffee several times, even sharing personal stories of home and life. If not Chorong, she didn’t know who else to go to.

∞∞∞∞∞

When they landed in Haenam a federal agent, as promised, was outside waiting for them.

“Good to see you Agent,” he greeted Chorong.

“Is everything ready?” she asked.

“Prepared as you asked.” he replied with a smile.

“Good job,” Chorong said then gestured for her to get in the car when the agent walked into the airport.

On the floor below her seat was a handbag of glocks and ammo. Namjoo quickly went through it as Chorong drove off.

“That enough to last you?” Chorong asked.

“For now it should, thanks,” Namjoo replied while busily hiding the tote into her duffel bag.

“You’re on your own if we don’t find Joonmyun,” Chorong told.

“I know.” Namjoo lifted her head to stare at the dirt scenery they passed by. “I appreciate it. Really.”

“Don’t get caught,” Chorong glanced at her. “It will really blow up this time.”

∞∞∞∞∞

“I’m home,” Sehun called out from the doorway. No one greeted him. Closing the door he walked further into the home with a bag of goods dangling from his hand. “Sohye?”

Still no one. Calmly searching his home from living room to kitchen he called out for her again. The bedroom was empty and he wondered if she’d gone out. Pulling his cell phone out he dialed for her and turned when the phone on the vanity loudly rang. A frown crossed his face this time and he stepped toward it.

She never left her phone behind. She always brought it with her wherever she went, he made sure she did so. Spinning around again Sehun eyed the bedroom for anything misplaced. Had someone stolen into his home while he was out?

Something felt off. He couldn’t explain what, his instincts just told him so and gut instincts were always right. Dropping the bag in hand he hurried back out the door and down the elevator to ground floor. The guard out front would have seen something.

Tapping on the window he urgently asked the old man inside the booth, “Have you seen my wife?”

“Oh, I’m not sure, young man,” the old man replied. “Many people come through here daily…”

Cutting him off Sehun said, “I need to see your security tapes.”

After a slight argument in which he won, Sehun entered the booth and ran through the security tapes. It was early morning when she left his house with nothing on her. Early noon she returned, again, with nothing on her. He assumed she hadn’t gone out shopping. What then, had she gone out for? His brows inched together when he caught her leaving again several minutes later walking urgently, this time with a duffel bag on her.

The old man let out a haughty laugh beside him, “I guess she did come through several times. Your wife must be angry at you, look she packed up and left. These young couples these days. You oughta be kinder to her…”

Swiveling around Sehun stepped out of the booth and back toward the apartment building. She left…

The very moment he stepped into his apartment one of his two phones rang. Pulling the private phone out of his pocket he listened to the person on the other end of the line then said, “We’ve a problem. Namjoo is missing.”

∞∞∞∞∞

“My gosh,” Chorong mumbled staring at the abandoned barn, “it’s just…a barn.”

The passenger door closed opposite where she stood. From the corner of her eye Namjoo passed by. Following her in Chorong glanced around the barn that smelled of rodents and old grass. Dust filtered in around her and she immediately covered her nose.

Swatting her hand around to ward the dust away she walked around, observing the remnants of the building. Dirty, dirty, dirty. She would never live here. Whoever had been in this barn scaring the neighborhood kids must’ve had a lot of fun.

“Doesn’t look like a very nice place to live,” she commented listening to Namjoo ravage the scene around them.

“There’s nothing here,” Namjoo said. “You sure someone is here? What if it’s really just a ghost?”

Shooting Namjoo a glance Chorong fought not to roll her eyes. Walking into the corner she stared at the fragile wall about to come down. She didn’t even want to touch it.

“Hey,” Namjoo called out from the opposite end, “look at this.”

Turning, Chorong looked Namjoo’s way. At first she was unable to see her, but caught sight of her blue jeans through the shadows in the corner. “What is it?” stopping beside her Chorong stared up at the rusty iron ladder.

“It’s a ladder,” Namjoo stated as if she didn’t already realize it. Grabbing onto it she began her way up. Chorong followed and within seconds found themselves standing on the second floor. It was a small chamber with a bed and some toys.

Picking up a blanket too clean to be unused for years from the corner Chorong crouched down to observe it. Turning back to look at Namjoo she proclaimed, “Yep. I told you someone was definitely here.”

Their gazes met before they turned to their right. Voices floated up from down below. Kids. They glanced at each other again before making their way down.

“So, where is this ghost?” the first kid mocked his friends. Quietly stepping out from the shadows Chorong watched the young boy turn around and let out a yelp of shock.

The corner of her moth rose up amused before asking, “You tell me, where this ghost is.”

∞∞∞∞∞

“She’s missing?!” Jang Daeha, his Chief in Attendant, roared. The white curtains were open that afternoon. The afternoon sunshine, though heavy outside, seemed to hesitate inside. A blue shadow poured over the room – the color from the strict blue carpet, his Chief’s favorite.

“She’s gone, sir,” Sehun repeated.

“How?!” the heavyset man roared again. “What did the doctor tell you? Did they not say she was incompetent of remembering?”

“They said it was a matter of will,” Sehun sternly explained. “I think, she has remembered, sir.”

Frustrated, the man brushed a hand against his face. With a grunt he slid down into his seat. “I thought you were careful, Oh. You knew what you were doing. You wanted work from home and I gave it to you.”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“Sorry doesn’t fix it,” his Chief scolded. “Without her we can’t find Joonmyun. What are you going to do now?”

“I’ll find her.” Sehun was determined. “She may have called someone for help. I’m going through her phone records with the company.”

A knock on the door interrupted. Sehun turned when the door opened and a woman poked her head in, “A fax just came in.”

A smile of silent hope crept onto his face and turning to the Chief Sehun nodded a farewell before walking out. Joining the woman outside he said, “Be on standby. We may have a lot of investigating to do.”

“You lost her, huh?” Kim Hana asked as they walked down the corridor. “Is the inner husband in you panicking?” Sehun shot her a stern stare. “Just kidding. I guess it might help to remind you that she’s a criminal and this marriage was all a lie. Anyway, living with her for a year must have been interesting. Nothing happened?”

Snatching the fax from the machine Sehun blocked Hana out as he skimmed through the phone records of Min Sohye, actually Kim Namjoo. The new identity they had given her was a pretense to keep her safe from the public eye until she regained her memory. The purpose of their marriage was to make everything as normal as possible so that she would trust him enough to share everything with him. Plan was to bring her in for interrogation until she handed over Joonmyun.

Most calls had been made to his real phone number.

“Check who this is,” Sehun handed her the papers. “It’s the last one. Find the person and where he or she is, what they do for a living, and what relation they have to Namjoo. We have no time to waste.”

∞∞∞∞∞

“Wow, this car is awesome!” one of the boys in the backseat exclaimed. “It’s smells so nice! Is it new?”

Chorong stared into the rearview mirror to glance back at the boys, hoping they were behaving and not smearing the rented car with the dirt they had on them. Playing in the fields never seemed so dirty to her before.

Stopping the car at the village road Chorong said, “Everybody off.” Namjoo stepped out after her. “What are you doing?”

“I want to look around,” Namjoo answered as if she should have already known it then pulled her duffel bag over her shoulder.

Shoving the door closed Chorong followed Namjoo down the road.

“How many visitors do you guys get here?” Namjoo asked one of the boys running past her.

“A lot of people come through here, Miss,” he replied before running off.

“A lot of people, huh?” Namjoo muttered then turned to look at her. “If Joonmyun isn’t here, you may as well be on your way.”

“I want to take a stroll first,” Chorong claimed. “We could do more than investigate the barn house.”

“We can’t go from house to house,” Namjoo objected. “Do you know how many people may not be home right now? They’ve probably seen nothing. The kids started that story about the ghost.”

“You’re so sure about that,” Chorong said walking up to a house and knocked on the door. A woman answered and she asked, “Have you noticed anyone in the village these days? Someone who may not be from around here?”

There was a baby strapped to the woman’s back crying a bout of complaint. “I’m sorry, I don’t know.”

“That’s all right. Sorry for bothering you,” Chorong smiled and stepped back. Turning to Namjoo she asked, “You want to take the next house?”

Namjoo frowned at her. For several minutes Chorong went from door to door with the same question. It wasn’t until they landed at an elder man’s house that they heard something interesting.

“Are you sure?” Chorong asked. “Do you know where he lives or where he’s from?”

“No, we just thought he probably didn’t have a home. He looked so hungry, that poor thing,” the elder man sympathized.

“How often does he come through the village?”

“Maybe once every week?”

Chorong turned back to look at Namjoo, both their minds brewing with greater curiosity. Once they were on the road again Chorong said, “Once a week means he’s nearby. No one travels on foot for hours to get free food. They’ve got no energy.”

“He could’ve gotten lifts from one of the farmers,” Namjoo suggested. “Doesn’t mean he’s Joonmyun.”

“He most likely doesn’t have money and no means of transportation, so I’d take that into consideration, but it’s not likely,” Chorong refused to believe in it. “If he’s here, he’ll take advantage of what he has. Friendly villagers who suspect nothing of him. It’s a quiet village, the best alternative for someone hiding. That doesn’t sound like Joonmyun to you?”

Namjoo stared at her. Then she asked the question Chorong hadn’t thought she would ask, “What relation do you have to him? You’ve been speaking as if you’re awfully close. I’ve been wondering, who gave you the cue to come to Haenam?”

Namjoo’s eyes burned into hers. Great, if she became suspicious of her now. Chorong quietly gulped, flustered. She should have watched . There was no chance she would tell Namjoo that she’d been looking for Joonmyun all this time. It would blow her cover. She would lose all trust.

Deciding not to answer Chorong stepped through the yard to knock on the next door. She heard shuffling inside, but no one came to the door. “Hello? Excuse me, is anyone home?” Chorong was confident she heard muffled voices coming from inside then the door burst open a second later and she was greeted by a little girl.

“I told you she was just a nice woman,” the little girl said to the man behind her. Smiling brightly at Chorong she asked, “Hello, auntie.” Turning to the man behind her she scolded, “You’re supposed to say hello too, Uncle Suho.”

This was not Suho. This was Joonmyun she was talking to.