Morning came and Jae got out of the room and walked down the stairs. She had checked in at the local motel with the money she had been saving up. She greeted the owner good morning and left the place to get herself some breakfast. The village looked the same as it did two years ago. It was autumn and the red leaves that had fallen to the ground added a vibrant colour to the village. The local people were all up early, sweeping away the leaves that had fallen overnight. She stopped over at a small grocery store and bought a bun, eating it as she walked aroung the village. 

She didn't have any destination in mind, and was just walking around thoughtlessly, having her own body lead her. As she was walking, she started to realise where she had walked towards. She stopped as she reached a house that was isolated from the others. It still appeared the same as it did two years ago. She  took a deep breath and walked towards the door. She knocked on the door but there was no answer. It was unlocked and she decided to take a look of the inside of it. Before she entered, one of the village workers was passing by, carrying some firewood he had gathered for tthe upcoming winter. He looked at her and called out to her.

"Miss?" he called out to her.

She turned around to face him. "Is there anybody living in there?" she asked him.

"No. The owner got sent to jail about a couple of years back, and since then, the house has been empty. But you're free to look inside if you want. Nobody has been inside the house since the incident that took place about two years ago."

"Ahh...I see. Thank you." Jae said as she bowed her head to the man and he left. 

She turned back to the house and pushed the door open slowly. It creaked, a sign of its old age. She looked in and took a step inside the house. It really was abandoned. There was nothing but the dust collected over the time it had been abandoned, and spiders in the webs they had spun. She walked around the house, and with every step she took, the wooden floor creaked. She closed her eyes and remembered what had happened two years ago. Her tears were on the verge of falling out and she shut her eyes tight, fighting her tears away. When she felt that her tears were gone, she sighed and took one last look around. She walked out of the house and took a breath of fresh air. She knew what she had to do. She was going to stop running away. It was time she faced the reality of what had happened two years ago.

She walked down the familiar path as she headed towards her destination. When she reached the small gate of a familiar house, she stopped for a moment before proceeding to open the gate. She knocked on the front door and waited for an answer. As she stood there waiting, she thought about what she was going to say. Nothing she said would change what happened. She knew that. But she had to do something. She couldn't run away forever. When the door opened, she saw a familiar face. One she had not seen since two years ago. 

"...May I come in?"

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Key stepped out of the car and took a deep breath of fresh air. The air was clean. Fresh. Something not readily available in a busy city like Seoul. He thanked the man in the car before he drove off. Key looked around, taking in the beauty of the place. 

Handeumi Village...so this is where she grew up...

He had chosen to trust what Jonghyun thought he had seen, and had taken a shuttle to the village in the early morning. It was a long ride and it was now the afternoon. He looked around the place. It was a small mountain village, surrounded by beautiful forests and valleys. He walked along the pathway and thought of possible places he would find Jae. He went to the local inn, and asked the man at the counter if a girl with long wavy black hair had checked in yesterday. The man nodded but when he was asked if he knew where she went, he claimed that he did not, and that she had not checked out when she left in the morning. Key thanked the man and walked out, looking around. He knew nothing of the village and had no clue as to where he should start his search. He asked around the villagers if they had seen her and all had claimed no, until one woman said that she had seen a girl of his description headed towards the Go's house. She pointed him in the direction and he thanked the woman before continuing on. When he reached the door of the house, he knocked on it and a middle aged woman answered the door. 

"Sorry for interrupting. But...is there a Jae Sun here?" he asked the woman.

The woman simply opened the door and invited him in. Key bowed his head politely, and entered the house.

"Please, take a seat." she said as she gestured towards the three seater couch. "Would you like anything to drink? I only have tea and water."

"Ahh..no it's fine." Key answered back, politely refusing.

"I think some tea will be good." she smiled back at him as she went to the kitchen and poured a cup of tea, one for her guest and the other for herself. She walked back into the living room where Key was waiting and set his cup of tea on the coffee table. He thanked her and she took her seat, taking a sip of her tea.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but who are you?" she asked him as she took another sip of her tea, looking at the mysterious boy. "You don't look like you're from this village."

"Ahh...sorry for my rudeness. I'm Kim Kibum. I'm from Seoul."

"Seoul? Ahh...then Kim Kibum-ssi, you know Jae Sun?" she asked him.

"Ahh..I'm a...friend." he said.

"A friend? In that case, you just missed her. She was here just a minute ago." she said. "You must really care for her to come all the way from Seoul."

"Huh? I..." Key struggled to find the words. "I...yes...I do."

She simply smiled back at him. "She must be pretty special to you."

He nodded, looking at the woman.

"...Right now...she's just having some time to herself. Did she tell you anything?"

"N-no..that's why I came."'

"Well...then I guess I should fill you in." she said as she looked towards a photo frame that had a picture of a family. Hers, along with her husband, and two sons.

"Two years ago...that was when everything changed..."

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That's the end of the chapter~ Next chapter will explain what happened and the...ooh. It's coming to an end. So...thoughts?