I take in a deep breath, and then slowly exhale it out.

The hospital building stands before me, and I know what I have to do, since I’ve been planning this for a while; I just hope that they have the information I need, and that I’m not too late.

Giving myself a reassuring nod, I then begin to enter the place.

More white greets me, as I step through the revolving glass doors. I then scan my eyes for the receptionist, and then gradually make my way over to the desk, where the usual light scent of disinfectant, can be smelt, wafting around the area.

“Hello,” greets the nurse, from behind the counter. “How may I assist you?”

“Hi,” I say, with a polite smile. “By any chance, has anybody come in here, to look for a Kim Himchan?” I cautiously ask. She quirks an eyebrow, and this makes me continue on; “He was treated here a couple of weeks ago, I think?”

Now that I think about it, how long has Himchan been with me?

It’s definitely been more than a week, but less than a month…

Which has been quite a while, now that I think really of it?

The unsure look stays on her face. “Hmm, I don’t recall anyone asking me for that name…” she slowly says. My face drops into one of visible disappointment, until she quickly reassures me; “But I’ll have a look, just to double check, so please give me a moment, okay?”

Feeling that glitter of hope, I then nod, giving her the affirmative.

“Hmm, let’s see then…” hums the woman, while typing something up on the computer.

I patiently watch her eyes scan over the screen for a while, but the tight line forming on her lips, makes me feel a little anxious. After a while, she then turns to me with a frown, and shakes her head, with an apology. Hearing this makes me sigh, but when I see her hold up a finger, it makes me blink at her. She then tells me that she will take a quick look through the phone machine, since they sometimes record down certain phone calls, for training purposes.

Huang Zitao, Im Yoona, Jung Yunho, Kim Myungsoo, Lee Chaerin…

Nothing.

Seeing the creases on my forehead, the woman then politely goes to ask me what this is for, but I give her a tiny smile, and not really knowing what to exactly say, I vaguely reply with it being for personal matters. Curiosity can be seen on her face, but before she can comment on anything, I tell her my thank you, and then begin to make my way outside.

Now away from the medical environment, I let out a sigh.

This is strange; why hasn’t anybody come looking for him?

Do they even know that he’s gone?

Or…does Himchan really not have a family?

As I continue to ponder about this, my mind sinks itself deeper and deeper, into a series of apprehensive thoughts.

What do you do, when you find someone, who has absolutely no idea who they are, and are trying to help them get back to where they belong?

My feet come to a stop, when my eyes suddenly catch sight of a poster, stuck on a lamp post, from a couple of meters away. The small white paper shows the word ‘missing’, printed out in huge black bold letters, and when your eyes fall down to what’s underneath that, a photo of a dog can be seen.

I stare at the notice for a bit, until a thought strikes me, from out of the blue.

That’s it—!

With a new idea now in my head, I then start to make my way towards the closest bus stop, as the need to suddenly be inside a police station, eventually motivates me into breaking out for a run.

———————————————

I thank the bus driver, just before hopping off of the vehicle, to be met with a grey building.

Entering the door, I then slowly make my way over to the front desk. It’s very quiet in here, compared to the outdoors, and the only sounds I can hear, is a soft clicking, belonging to a computer’s mouse. There’s no one here at the counter right now, and there isn’t exactly a bell of some sort for me to ring, so I’m a little unsure of what to do, to ask for some assistance.

Are the police on their lunch break?

Maybe I should have thought of that before I—

“Good afternoon,” greets a male’s voice. “How may I—oh?”

My eyes find themselves rounding, to match the tone of his surprised voice; “Youngjae?”

Wow, this is quite...random.

The last time I saw him, was when I still kept in contact with Daehyun, and that was quite a long time ago.

The brunette blinks at me, before showing me a friendly smile. “Whoa, it’s been a while, huh?” he says. “How are you?”

I nod, agreeing with him. “Yeah, I’ve been alright,” I respond, with a slight shrug. “How about you? I…never thought that I would be seeing you here.”

Letting out a sheepish chortle, I can feel the confusion sweep over me, as I now begin to take in the thought of Youngjae being a police officer.

“Me either,” he says, with a chuckle.

The two of us somehow begin to talk for a while, telling each other what we had been up to.

Apparently, this is his last year of his criminology course, but because of how competitive the area is, he is planning to push his studies further, to go and do a master’s degree. I nod in awe as he goes on, and when I ask for his thoughts of obtaining a PhD, he says that he will most likely head for that, after his master’s. I then go to ask him about his reasoning for being here in the police station, and he tells me how this is his volunteer work, for experience.

He then goes on to tell me how he had accidentally overheard a few officers talking about eventually hiring him, and this makes me praise him further.

“You’re amazing,” I compliment, in admiration.

Youngjae gives me a cheeky grin. “I know,” he replies, laughing slightly.

I roll my eyes at his playful comment, as he chuckles away. “But really, you’re going to get very far in life,” I say. “Except, when you become a commissioner general or something, just don’t go and do something stupid, like let yourself get kidnapped, just to lure out all of the criminals.”

He lifts an amused eyebrow. “Hey, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” murmurs Youngjae, as he goes to his chin; “If it gets them all to reveal themselves, then why not?”

My brows crease together. “Um, I don’t know,” I say, with flatten eyes. “Maybe it’s because you might get yourself killed in the process?”

Youngjae shakes his head. “They won’t kill me, because I’ll find a way to outsmart them,” he says, with a positive beam. “I think a busted lip, bruised eye, and a few cuts and scratches here and there, won’t be too bad.”

I give him a weird look, which causes him to burst out laughing.

“You know, sometimes I wonder what it would be like, if I went into something like law,” I muse. “But then I remember how much I like performing, and realise that it won’t work out.”

“Well, if you went into law, then we could be working together,” he notes. “I’ll be catching the criminals, while you sentence them to jail.”

I smile, entertained by the idea, but then shake my head, and begin to take myself back to my main purpose of coming here. “So anyway, I want to fill out a missing person’s report,” I reveal.

And as I go on to explain why I’m doing this, I find myself twisting around some of my words, making everything as vague as possible.

Youngjae nods, as he carefully listens to me, and when I finish, he then takes out a couple of papers for me. It’s a self-explanatory document, but being the helpful person he is, Youngjae still tells me to ask him for anything that I’m unsure of. I thank him, and when he goes back to sorting out some files on the computer, that’s when I start to complete the form.

The first question is easy, as it asks for the person’s name, to which I go and smoothly write that in, but then come to a halt, when I see the next one.

How old is Himchan, exactly…?

I stare at the page for a bit, feeling rather blank, before pursing my lips to the side in thought.

My eyes then flicker over to Youngjae’s back in the corner, but because I feel as though he is deeply into his work, I choose not to bother him.

It would be okay if I estimated, right?

Contemplating for a bit longer, I then eventually decide to write down mid-twenties.

He could be the same age as Yongguk…but because of how childish he can be, he could also be much younger?

Shaking my head, I dismiss the other various thoughts, and force myself to move onto the next question, because if I keep over-thinking like this, then who knows when I’ll finish?

And not to mention, thinking about Himchan gives me a headache.

———————————————

When I’m finished with everything, Youngjae collects the papers, and I watch as his eyes skim over what I have written.

And I’m not sure why, but I feel a little uneasy, as I watch him do so.

He eventually gives me the okay, and then tells me that this should be alright, which makes me feel as though a weight has just been lifted off of me.

“So is there anything else that I can help you with?” he questions.

I think about it for a bit. “Actually, there is,” I gently reply. “Would it be alright if…if you kept me informed, with anything to do with this person?” I then add; “And that you don’t let anyone know, that it was me, who went and placed this report in?”

The brunette blinks at my request, before signalling me his agreement with a nod. “Sure,” says Youngjae. “The information will just stay in this building, for interviews and such. But why don’t you want anyone to know that you’re putting this notice in?”

I shrug a shoulder, and try my best to look as casual as I can possibly be; “It’s just easier that way.”

Before Youngjae can say anything else, I take out my phone, to exchange numbers with him, and when we’re done, I bid him farewell.

“Take care,” he says, while putting his phone away.

I show him a small friendly smile; “You too.”

———————————————

When I finally arrive home, I’m instantly greeted by Himchan’s voice.

“You’re finally here!” he chirps, from the sofa.

I slip off my shoes, and then walk over to put my purse down onto the coffee table. “Oh, did you miss me?” I tease, with an exaggerated eye-smile.

Himchan eagerly nods his head. “The house is really boring without you,” he states, with a pout.

For a split second there, I feel a strange fuzzy bubble spread over me, but it instantly pops, when he goes to open his mouth again.

“Because when you’re here, then I only have to do half of the chores,” says the blonde, grinning from ear to ear.

Pulling the laundry basket (that was at a hidden angle) closer, he then proceeds to tip the contents down in front of him, on the couch.

I let out a mental sigh, but then go to sit down on the other side, to start folding the clothes, as he goes to roll up the socks.

It’s quiet for a while, and as I use the silence, to take in this image of us folding our clothes together, it makes me want to laugh. The two of us have gone from bickering out in the car park of a super market, to folding the laundry together, in my apartment; it’s a rather funny thought.

“So how was your day?” asks Himchan, from out of nowhere.

I stop my actions, and blink at him for a bit. “You…actually want to know?” I warily say, finding this question to be quite out of character.

He’s never questioned me about my day before, nonetheless, even greeted me, whenever I would come home; it’s always me that was asking about his wellbeing, but a part of me feels as though I’m only doing that, out of politeness.

Or that I just feel sorry for him.

Himchan jerks his shoulders up. “You’re always asking me, so I thought maybe I should start asking you as well,” he nonchalantly says, while reaching out for another pair of socks to roll up. “I don’t know, I’m bored; talk to me!”

I go back to folding a pair of jeans. “Well...” I carefully begin. Thoughts of being at the hospital appear in my mind, but I force myself to keep on a neutral face; “It was...okay, I guess?”

“Okay?” repeats Himchan, as though expecting more. “That’s it? What did you do, again?”

My eyes quickly glance over towards my phone on the table in front of us, and I’m immediately reminded of Youngjae. “Oh, I went and had lunch with my friend, Subin, remember?” I fib.

Himchan pouts. “So while you went and had a glorious lunch with your friend, I was stuck here with all of the ugly housework,” he grumbles.

Letting out a laugh, I can’t help but feel a little bad. “Did you—“

Himchan interrupts me before I can finish. “—Vacuum the floor?” he says. “Why yes I did, I think I can do it with my eyes closed now.”

I pick up one of his jumpers, and begin to fold that, as a feeling of gratitude stirs within me.

Folding the last t-shirt, Himchan then picks up the pile, and begins to make his way towards my cupboard, to put them away.

“So what are we eating tonight?” he hollers out, from inside my room.

“I have some tofu and vegetables that we can make a stew out of,” I reply.

Himchan soon reappears before me, and makes a face. “Ugh, I was hoping for some meat, but fine,” he drawls, with a roll of his eyes. “I’ll take them out of the fridge now, and start cutting them up.”

I watch as he now heads into the kitchen, and can now hear the fridge being opened up. My ears then pick up on the sounds of some rustling, as Himchan begins to take out the needed ingredients. I can hear him pondering to himself of which ones to start off with, and his reasoning makes me shake my head good-naturedly at him.

My gaze finds itself landing back on my phone, bringing my thoughts back to Youngjae.

I then look over to the kitchen’s direction, and then back over to the device in front of me, and let out a sigh.

The guilt of lying to Himchan these days, have strangely made me become more squirm-ish.

“Yejin-ah, help!” yelps the male, from in the kitchen. “I hate these carrots; they’re not letting me cut them properly, without sitting still!”

Rising up from my spot, my feet then begin to make their way over to where he’s at. “Aish, how can you not know how to cut carrots?” I mumble.

And as I start to slice up the rest of the orange vegetable, I dismiss today’s events, and just concentrate on cooking by Himchan’s side.