Tiffany took Seohyun’s hand and held it tightly. “Hyun, you need to calm down first.” She was trying to help her friend relax, but she knew that was useless at that moment.

“Unnie…what happened?” Another new set of tears fell. The anticipation was killing her right now.

Tiffany motioned Seohyun to sit down on the couch as she sat next to her. Her mind was racing, thinking of how to tell Seohyun the news she just received. She

She looked at Tiffany with confusion, but complied with her friend. “Who were you talking to just now?”

The older girl didn’t reply immediately. She was composing a proper sentence of words in her head to deliver the news. She cleared . “That was Yonghwa’s father.”

Seohyun’s face dropped the second the info left Tiffany’s mouth. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest. Her breathing started to get uneven. “W-what did he say? T-tell me what h-happen.” She mumbled with trembling lips.

Tiffany swallowed and adjusted her position on the couch. She inhaled deeply and slowly let it out. “The Fire and Rescue Department found four out of six people who were missing. But…” She paused, not knowing how to continue.

Seohyun swallowed hard. She wasn’t ready for another bad news. “But what?”

“Yonghwa wasn’t in the list of rescued people. The search is still going and they won’t stop until they found another two.”

The news hit her hard, but then she saw the hesitancy in Tiffany’s eyes as if she was hiding something from her. “And?” Seohyun asked.

Tiffany let out an inaudible sigh. It was hard for her to spill the news out to Seohyun, but she rather not comforted her best friend with a lie. “It has been eighty hours now. They are very concerned about another two.”

“Why?” Tears pooled in her eyes.

“The Fire Department said, with the non-stop heavy rain and storm, it’s getting harder to trace their track.  They also said, the ATV coordinator told them that Yonghwa had a fever a day before the ATV ride. With the weather and his condition, they can’t say much about the survival chance. But they’re very hopeful.” Tiffany was struggling to deliver the news, but she had to say it.

Seohyun squeezes her eyes shut. She can no longer stop the tears from falling. Her body was shaking violently from sobbing. Tiffany moved closer to her and hugged her tightly. “H-he could be d-dead, unnie.” She muttered in between the sobbing.

“We don’t know that yet. Have faith, Hyun-ah.” Tiffany whispered in the brunette’s ear, comforting the younger girl. Seeing Seohyun in such heartbroken state had brought tears to her eyes. How would her little heart bear one pain after another? If only she knew how to make Seohyun feel better, she’d do anything. But there was nothing she could do or say to help ease the pain.

**************

After wearing herself with crying, Seohyun sat at the window pane in the living room. She hugged her legs and rested her chin on her knees as she looked out the window. It was raining heavily outside as if the weather was weeping with her. Since Tiffany told her the update from Yonghwa’s father, she went completely silent. Later that evening, her manager, Kim Soojin, came to her apartment. But she was ignored by Seohyun too. She wasn’t in the mood of talking to anyone. Not even to Tiffany or her manager.

Tiffany and the lady manager gathered in the kitchen, probably talking about work or Yonghwa or whatever – she just didn’t care. She kept her view out of the window. All she could think about was her missing boyfriend. In the time like that, she missed him badly. Every time the thought of Yonghwa crossed his mind, she couldn’t help but thinking of the worst. And her heart ached every time too. Longing for him was agonizing, especially when she remembered the last conversation they had before he went for the off-road tour. If only she wasn’t mean to him during the phone call, the heartache would be less painful.

“You can go doing whatever you want and take as many days as you want. It’s your life anyway. I DON’T care...”

Yes, she was upset, but was it necessary to be rude to him? She cared so much about him, about his well-being, his health, his happiness. But when you were upset, you usually have no control of your words. Now those words hurt her more than ever. Every time she looked around the house, she could hear him, feel him or even see him. All the memories they shared in the house reminded her of him. For one, she thought she had gone insane.

Deep in her heart, she believed he was somewhere, still alive. But the news from Yonghwa’s father made her think twice. With the thunderstorm and the unpredictable weather, it was hard to say. He may be alive or probably hurt or lied somewhere lifeless. But no matter what, rather than wondering about the possibility between dead or alive, she wanted to know his whereabouts.

*******flashback********

Yonghwa was scheduled to attend a fan meeting in Taiwan. He was excited about it. He loved the country. While he was busy sorting out the clothes in his bedroom, he heard the clink of keys on the front door of his apartment. A smile appeared on his face when he heard her beautiful voice calling for him. At that moment, an idea to prank her crossed his mind.

“Hi, Handsome.” She greeted him with her famous smile as she walked into the room. “What are you doing?” Her eyes scanned the messy room while approaching her boyfriend.

“Packing up.” He said while folding a shirt. He didn’t even look at her.

“Going somewhere?” She stood closer to him.

“I’m leaving you.” He said in a serious tone as he placed the shirt on the bed with other folded clothes. His expression was serious as if he was mad about something.

Her face dropped in a second. “What?” Her eyebrows creased as she looked at him in disbelief. “What do you mean?” All she could think about was something had happened and he breaking up with her.  

He then burst into a big laugh when he saw her face. “I’m joking.” He pulled her in an embrace.

She let out a breath through her nose and clenched her teeth. She glared at him, feeling annoyed by his joke. She wriggled in his embrace. “Let go of me. That’s not even funny.”

He tightened the embrace and giggled. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m just messing with you. You should see your face.”

“Ha ha ha…so funny.” She shot him a sharp glare. “Don’t you ever joking like that again. If you really want to break up with me, just say so.” She rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“Okay, okay… baby, I’m sorry.” He showed his puppy eyes with pouty lips. “I promise I’ll never joke like that again. I love you so much. Besides, you’re cute when you sulk.” He cooed at her and placed a kiss on her temple.

“I’m not sulking. I just hate you so much right now.” She punched his chest, but her expression softened as she stopped wriggling in his embrace.

He feigned hurt and chuckled at her cute gesture. He cupped her face in one hand. “For your information, I have no intention to leave you or break up with you. I have to wait for so long for us to be together, not to mention the rejection, the heartbreak and hurt I have to face to win your heart. So I won’t throw all the struggles I’ve gone through to break up with you. Nothing worth having comes easy. I’m incomplete without you, babe. So am I forgiven?” He asked with a smile.

“Of course you are.” She replied with a smile. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. When they pulled away, she looked into his eyes and softly sighed. “It’s so hard to resist those puppy eyes. I think I really have a soft spot for them. But if you make that joke again, I’ll leave you for real.” She said playfully and giggled.

He laughed and pulled up his hands in defense. “I won’t dare.” He moved to his closet to pick up some more clothes. He then moved back to the suitcase on the fl