Saturday, 06:00 PM

Ji-hwa sighed in frustration for the hundredth time and dropped her whole weight on the chair by my side.

"Please, Yu-na, it's been a month. Just let go of this already!"

Yeah, I definitely did not go through with the promise I made to that mint haired boy a month ago - forgetting what had happened was not even an option.

Therefore, I dedicated what little free time I had to do some research. I needed to find out anything, whatever it was, about this Kangjŏn person, be it an article, a police statement, something that led me to any type of conclusion.

And, perhaps most importantly, I needed to see him again.

Suga.

"C'mon Yu-na, leave that computer alone and lets go for Starbucks, yeah?" She tried, hopeless.

"I'll pass Ji... Maybe next time." I said, not wishing to go further into the matter..

Truth was, I finally had a clue and I wasn't about to let it pass unexamined.

Ji-hwa did not know of my reasons for this intense interest - at first, she had tried to make me reveal the motivation behind my my spree Googling for terms such as 'Hyun Kangjŏn', 'Hyun Kangjŏn criminal', 'Hyun Kangjŏn Seoul' and on it went in every possible and imaginable variation, but after a while of getting no concrete answer from my side, she had given up trying to find out and just moved on to being absolutely irritated by it.

"That's what you always say!" She raised her voice and slapped her hand on my desk, standing up from the chair. "Look at you! Have you gone mad?! For a whole month you've been obsessing over searching for things that don't make sense! Why the hell are you so decided to find information about some supposed criminal? And what the heck is a 'Suga'? Seriously, Yu-na! I don't even recognize you anymore."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Look, Ji, I know this is weird, but it's something of my own, I really want to do this research, so please don't be like that. I have my reasons, okay?"

"What possible reasons could you have to spend a whole month looking on the internet for anything you can grab about this person? And a seemingly dangerous person at that!"

"Ji... It's... It's complicated."

"Maybe if you'd tell me things I would understand."

'No, you wouldn't. You'd freak out and live on the hiding for the rest of your life just by knowing about it.'

"Well, it is complicated. It's... a thing of mine. You know, just like you and K-Dramas. It's something of yours, that you like to do alone and I don't. It's your thing. Can I not have a thing too?"

"Really? Are you honestly comparing this with K-Dramas?" She hissed.

Exasperated and without even waiting for an answer, she turned around and picked up her backpack.

"Whenever you have time for your best friend again, give me a call." With that, she marched out of my room and banged the door shut behind her.

I sighed, feeling all sorts of both exhausted and awful.

Pondering, I ran a hand down my face; was my best friendship worth losing for some boy in a dark alley?

Absolutely not. However, the need for the truth was crushing too. And, I decided, if Ji-hwa was my real friend after all, she would end up understanding or at least coming to terms with it. She didn't have to know reasons why, she just had to let me do my thing.

I needed facts and information. About everything. I didn't even know what I'd do with it, I just needed to know.

And, for some reason I was still working to understand, I wanted to see him again.

"Yu-na, honey, was that Ji-hwa I saw stomping down the stairs?" My mother asked, slightly opening the door. "She seemed upset, is everything okay?"

"Yes, Eomma, we just had a little disagreement. No big deal."

"Are you sure, sweetheart? She did seem really ups-"

"Eomma, everything is fine. Anyway, I have to go back to my studies." I interrupted, feeling a little rude but wishing to forget about the whole thing already.

"Ne. If you say so... I just worried." She said, obviously upset by my outburst, but finally dropping it. "I'm quickly going to fetch some last minute groceries, is there anything you need?"

"Aniyo Eomma, nothing, gomawo."

"Arasso, I'm going now. I'll be back soon. Study hard!" And with a motherly smile that made me feel guilty for being an just seconds ago, she gently closed the door and went out.

Relieved now that I heard our car drive away, I started printing the article I had found. Finally, I could have some privacy and peace of mind to look at things.

I picked up the paper form the printer and opened the drawer