His eyes had darkened and his expression solemn after hearing what the other person on the line said.

I lost sight of the tall man who had moved off in a jiffy. Deep inside it bugged me – I shouldn’t be overly concerned – yet the serious air that suddenly engulfed him bothered me. It was the exact same look he had that night of the gang fight. Something must have happened.

Walking back into the penthouse without breaking out into a run, I squeezed through the huge crowd. Now there was some senior perform magic tricks with fire right smack in the middle of the living room. God, these idiots better not burn the place down. Where was that Kris, he was the tenant, for crying out loud. I swerved my head left to right and back, looking for both Jin Woon and Kris.

There was a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to face a quizzical Kwon who asked, “Did you see Woonie?”

I shook my head, equally perturbed.

“He just walked out, without saying anything to me.” Kwon’s tone had also taken a serious turn, probably also realising that a matter of grave importance must have caused the laidback Jin Woon to act out of character and bail on his pal like that. “Man, I shouldn’t have brought him to the party.” The man must have linked Jin Woon’s disappearance to the awkwardness between two of us. Except that truly wasn’t the case.

Now wasn’t the time to launch into any explanation. And just to prove that my instinct was correct, the phone in my back pocket buzzed. The name on the screen would have come as a surprise at any other time, yet that night Junsu’s call seemed to be the missing piece to the puzzle. Running into the empty bedroom, I pressed the answer button.

“Is that Amber?” The strange voice from the other side asked.

“Junsu oppa?” I rarely addressed older men in the traditional Korean manner however Junsu didn’t seem someone easily trifled with.

Junsu cleared his throat. “Amber, I need your help. Could you come to Ward 102 at National University Hospital?”

“Seoul National University Hospital? Now?”

“Can you?” There was a certain urgency in Junsu’s tone - I couldn’t refuse his request.

I rummaged through my bag to find my wallet while listening to Junsu’s instructions. Rushing out, I still couldn’t locate Kris anywhere. But Luna was chatting to her classmate, chomping on chips. I got her attention and whispered into her ear, “Luna, I got to dash to the convenience store for some snacks. Let Kris know if you see him alright?”

She managed a nod and I was on my way. I had never been to Seoul National University Hospital in the time I had been in Korea so thankfully Junsu had given me pretty detailed directions. Actually, I had never seen the inside of any hospital in my life and was grateful that the people around me and myself were healthy. As I ran up the steps to the front entrance of the hospital, a nervous quivering settled in the pit of my stomach.

The hospital smelt like disinfectant, like a clinic. A kind nurse pointed me the way to Ward 102 and I dashed along, only to stop short at the scene before me. Outside the ward stood four burly men that resembled the Gorilla I had previously encountered at Sichuan Palace, and none of them was Jin Woon. God, it slipped my mind that he was part of the Kkangpae. Now what was I going to do?

With the smallest of steps, I walked up to the least intimidating individual and asked him, “Er Sir?”

He glanced at me as though I was insignificant. I ventured further gingerly, trying my luck, “I’m looking for Jin Woon. Jung Jin Woon?”

“And who are you?” The unexpected boom from him caused me to stumble back, almost falling.

The door behind him banged open. “For god’s sake, Young Soo, can’t you be softer? You are in a hospital!” An irritated Junsu emerged, chastising the man. Coming to take my arm, he spoke distinctly gentler to me, “Come along, Amber. Did you get a scare? I apologise on Young Soo’s behalf.”

I never knew hospital wards were so big. The one that Junsu brought me into was the same size as Luna and my dorm room. Jin Woon stood next to a bed with a few others. From where I was, all I could see was someone sleeping with an oxygen mask attached to him. For a second, I heaved a silent sigh of relief – Jin Woon had not gotten into any danger.

“It’s Junho. He got ambushed tonig