“He has always been the pride of our orphanage.”

Sungjong pauses, recalling his days in the small compound. Even though he never knew his parents, he has a family. Sunggyu was part of that big family. 

“Sunggyu hyung bagged all kinds of study awards since young but he was never snobbish. He helped with everything in the orphanage and coached the younger kids with their schoolwork. He was a hyung every kid looks up to, including me. He was our kiddy leader.”

“Has he always been this … fragile … sickly?”

Woohyun cannot picture the boy Sungjong is speaking of to the ghostly looking male lying on his lap.

“No. He lost so much weight and so pale. Even though hyung does not excel in sports, I have never see him in such a state. I almost cannot recognize him.”   

The thing that is going through Woohyun’s mind is the same in everyone’s mind. What has caused the change?

“Was he good in programming or the technology stuffs?”

This is the first time Dongwoo hears about Sunggyu’s background. Sungjong has only mentioned he might know the person in question during their trip to Woohyun’s place. He tries to identify the possible reason behind the drastic change. Programmers and hackers are known to live their lives revolving only around their computers.  

“Not that I know of. Sunggyu hyung is very good with numbers and his university scholarship is in accountancy.”

“When did he went missing from the orphanage? Were there any abnormalities before his disappearance?”

Question after question pops into Woohyun’s mind; there is so much he needs to know about Sunggyu.

“Hyung was no longer living in the orphanage when he disappeared. Due to limited resources, all kids leave at the age of eighteen. Sunggyu hyung was living at the university hostel but he often visited us when he was not busy with his schoolwork or part time jobs. It was his last year at the university when he went missing. He was twenty-two then and it had been almost seven years since his disappearance.”

Sungjong still remembers his hyung bringing all kinds of snacks and small presents for the kids whenever he visited. The staffs at the orphanage had often advised against spending his money on the kids, as they knew the male needed the money for rent and expenses. Sunggyu hyung had always assured everyone that he was doing fine with his bright smile.

“Maybe he gotten into bad company at his part time job?”

Based on their brief investigation, Sungyeol believes the unconscious male is definitely involved in the whole thing.

“No way! Hyung worked in a small eatery near the university owned by an elderly couple. Most of the customers are the students studying nearby. Hyung said they were very kind to provide him meals on top of his salary.”

“Sungjong, who informed the orphanage of his disappearance?”

Myungsoo who has been listening silently poses his first question. He has been doing some snooping on Sunggyu’s past but it was completely blank, as if he never existed.

“No one actually. Because he was already an adult, the orphanage was no longer registered as his guardian. We initially thought he was too busy with his final year examinations that he did not have time to visit us. I went to look for him, as I needed to talk with him about my options after leaving the orphanage. I was going eighteen soon at that time. That was when we found out he had been missing for months.”

“No one make a police report?”

Myungsoo knows something is very wrong. Sunggyu is not listed as missing person in the registry, not even as deceased. Sunggyu simply is not in the registry or any records. Basically, Kim Sunggyu does not exist in this world, as if the male is just a figment of imagination and not a life being presently lying on the sofa before him.

“The university did but because we were not related, the police were unwilling to reveal much detail to us. All I gathered was that hyung left a note saying he was tired and wished to end it all. They said hyung seemed to be short on money and was holding two part time jobs to meet ends. The police declared no foul play and concluded the case without much investigation. I never believe what they said about Sunggyu hyung so after joining the unit, I had tried to access the police report but that whole month data was lost due to a previous system malfunction. There was not much I could find.”

“I doubt it was system malfunction.”

Woohyun immediately turns his attention to Myungsoo. He instinctively knows the male has more information to share.

“Someone had systematically erased the existence of Kim Sunggyu, disguising their acts with bulk deletion of data instead of just targeted at him. I checked his schools and orphanage records; they were gone also. He is not even inside the national registry. Except in the minds of those who knew him, his existence had been totally wiped clean from this world. If not for Sungjong’s information, I probably would not even know where to begin digging out anything on him. Technically, I still do not have anything on him except confirmation that all his data are gone.”

“So am I right to say someone or some company wants to find him desperately but at the same time, does not want anyone to know his existence? Well Woohyun, you have just land yourself a hidden treasure!”

Sungyeol’s remark brings a tiny smile to Woohyun’s expression. Sunggyu is definitely a treasure to him. With Kitty around the house, Sunggyu is smiling more and Woohyun simply adores those moments, wanting nothing more except to ensure the male keeps smiling. But even with the information provided by Sungjong and Myungsoo, he still does not know anything about Sunggyu since his disappearance. The most important piece of the puzzle is still missing.

The most idling male lead, just sleeping away for 2 chapters, I think it is time for the sleeping beauty to wake up, don't you think so too?

Hope you have enjoy this chapter and since school is starting again, update may be slower. Kindly bear with me. Comments are always welcome!

PS : I was hoping to see all the members visiting Sunggyu but I guess some of them are really busy with individual activities. Anyway it is really great to see Sunggyu looking well since I keep reading posts about him visiting the army medics frequently.