Jihyo's POV

It's morning and I wake up as usual, preparing myself for work.  As a doctor and single mommy, I need to be punctual and comitted to my job because human's lives depend on me. Also, I have a daughter that keeps me alive, the person that I love and need the most in this world. I have to protect her at all cost.

The morning seems calm and after done a final check on my outfit, I swing my feets straight to my daughter's room. I must make sure that I leave her in a good condition. I knocked her door for several times.

"Honey, are you awake?" There's no answer. So I tried knock once again.

"Mina? Darling you there?" Yet still no answer. My mother instinct tense up, thinking that maybe my honey is sick.

I opened the door right away and find it's so calm so I guess my baby still sleeping. "Mina are you there honey?"
I smile warmly, seeing the blanket are all covered up on bed yet as soon as I pull the blanket there was nothing but a pillow and I saw the white envelope on top of it.

My heart is beating fast, my hands are trembling, taking out the letter inside the envelope. My tears keep streaming down as I read the content. God, who could live peacefully without knowing where her daughter is, with that health condition. Chaeyoung, that kid!

I run to the airlock and unlock it right away, heading to the outside with the hope that Mina still lingering around there. Too bad I can't even ask for anyone help since I'd locked my daughter existence from the world outside. Coincidentally, I saw a tall girl coming out from Chaeyoung's house, going to school I guess.

"Tzuyu! You are Tzuyu right? Where is Chaeyoung?! Where is Mina?!"

The girl look confused but at the same time anxious, maybe she knows something.

"Hu-huh? I-I don't know ma'am. I thought Chaeyoung went to school." Tzuyu stuttered, hoping that she won't got caught.

"I'm sorry ma'am but I have to go now" Tzuyu said in hurry, leaving me speechless.

And here I am, standing alone with never-ending tears, can't stop worrying about my little princess. I am hopeless.. Mina my baby, please comeback to me. Please comeback..

It’s bluer, bigger, more turbulent than I’d imagined. Wind lifts my hair, scrubs sand and salt against my skin, invades my nose. I wait until I’m down the hill to take off my shoes. I roll my jeans up as far as they’ll go. The sand is hot and dry and loose. It waterfalls over my feet and slips through my toes.

As I get closer to the water, the sand changes. Now it sticks to my feet, coating them like a second skin. At the water’s edge, it changes again and becomes a liquid velvet. My feet leave impressions in this softer mix. So this is how sand feels like?

Finally, my feet are in the surging water, and then my ankles are, and then my calves. I don’t stop moving until the water is up to my knees and soaks my jeans.

“Yah Minari, be careful,” Chaeyoung calls out from somewhere behind me.

I’m not sure what it's that means in this context. Be careful because I may drown in the depth of the ocean? Be careful because I may get sick? Be careful, because once you become a part of the world it becomes a part of you, too?

Because there’s no denying it now. I’m in the world, the real world.

And the real world is in me.

The endless part of yourself you never knew but always suspected was there. [2015, Whittier]

REWARD IF FOUND

Our hotel sits right on the beach and we can see and smell the ocean from the small, open-air lobby. We’re greeted with alohas and more leis. Chaeyoung gives hers to me so that now I have three layers of leis around my neck. A bellhop in a bright yellow-and- white Hawaiian shirt offers to retrieve our nonexistent luggage. Chaeyoung makes a noise about our baggage coming later and steers us around her before she can question us further.

I nudge Chaeyoung toward the check-in counter and give her our paperwork.

“Welcome to Maui, Mr. and Mrs. Myoui,” says the woman at the desk. Chaeyoung doesn’t correct her mistake, she just pulls me closer by my waist and gives a loud smack on the lips. I slapped her chest a bit, blushing because she did it in front of people.

“Mahalo very much,” she says, grinning wildly.

“So sir, you’ll be joining us for … two nights.”

Chaeyoung looks to me for confirmation and I nod.

A few keystrokes later the woman tells us that, though it’s still early, our room is already ready. She gives us a key and property map and tells us about the complimentary continental breakfast buffet.

“If you guys need anything just call the room service. And you got a pretty wife Mr. Chaeyoung. Enjoy your honeymoon!” She winks and sends us on our way. Chaeyoung just giggled showing her dimples and I feel so shy by that.

The room is small, very small, and decorated much like the lobby with teak furniture and large pictures of bright tropical flowers. Our balcony—called a lanai—overlooks a small garden and a parking lot. The wind blows straight into the room, makes me feel much alive.

From the center of the room, I turn a 360 to see what’s considered necessary in a temporary home—television, a small fridge, an enormous closet, a desk and chair. I turn another 360 trying to figure out what’s missing.

“Chaeng, where are our beds? Where do we sleep?”

She looks momentarily confused until she spots something.

“Oh, you mean this?” She walks over to what I thought was an enormous closet, grips the two handles near the top and pulls to reveal a bed. “Voilà,” she says. “The very model of modern-day, space-saving efficiency. The height of style and comfort, of convenience and practicality. I give you the Murphy bed.”

“Who is Murphy Chaeng?” I ask, still surprised that a bed came out of the wall. It's my first time seeing that, and it's fascinating.

“The inventor of this bed,” she says, winking.

With the bed unfolded, the room feels even smaller. We both stare at it for longer than is strictly necessary. Chaeyoung turns to look at me. We know that we're thinking the same