Yoseob was sitting in the car when he saw Suzy running from the house. He wasn’t sure but he thinks she’s crying. He started the car and followed her. She was just running and walks after a few streets then starts running again...

 

“What’s with this girl? I couldn’t have done this. I was out of the house for a long time already before she became like this? Where could she be getting all this energy? Aaaish! I should concentrate on following her. I might lose her...” Yoseob said as he focused back on the road.

 

After almost an hour, Suzy stopped and just sat in a corner. Yoseob parked the car and walked towards her.

 

Suzy saw Yoseob approaching her but she didn’t even bothered standing up and she just managed to say in between sobs, “Just leave me alone for now. I don’t have the strength to fight with you. Just give me this moment. Bother me again some other day and I’ll put up a fight. Just not now...” And she went back to crying.

 

Yoseob wanted to say something but she just looked so fragile that whatever he wanted to say went out of his mind. He wanted to sit there with her but he knew that if he does that, he’ll just add to her troubles so he slowly walked away. He saw a small store near the area where he parked his car. He bought a pack of bread and bottled water and walked again to Suzy.

 

“I won’t bother you. I swear. I’ll just bring you this. You know, you should eat. It might help lessen your troubles.” He said with a smile. But she just stared back at him and bowed her head down. Yoseob had no choice but to leave the bread beside her and walk back to his car. He just sat there watching Suzy.

 

‘What am I even doing here? Wasting my precious time for this province girl’s drama. I want to get annoyed, really! But I just can’t! What’s happening to me?! It’s seems like I’m putting way too much effort on this girl. I just hope she falls for me soon. ’ Yoseob thought to himself as he continued watching her.

 

Back at the house...

 

“Buddy, can you come with me to the orphanage? I just found this picture of my sister in father’s stuff last night and I thought of visiting the orphanage to find out more about Ji-eun.” Junho said to Wooyoung.

 

“Sure. I’ll be out in a bit.” Wooyoung replied.

 

“Thanks buddy.” Junho smiled.

 

After half an hour, the two were already walking to the direction of the bus stop. They rode the bus and since the orphanage was an hour long trip, the two started talking.

 

“It’s funny that I was just alone yesterday asking my father for some help then when I got home, there was the package waiting for me.” Junho started.

 

“Maybe Uncle Changmin saw you having a hard time in looking for your sister. Look at you. Even in going out of the house, you have to dress like this because those people might recognize you. ” Wooyoung pointed to Junho’s girly outfit trying to suppress a laugh.

 

“Yah! Stop teasing me...  You’re just lucky you’re not wearing this.” Junho glared at Wooyoung.

“But kidding aside buddy, How’s the search in the school? Have you had any leads yet?” Wooyoung asked.

 

“Well, I haven’t looked much. How could I find her in just a few days? There are hundreds of girls in that school.” He said, then unconsciously he whispered, “Plus, I was side-tracked by that monster in disguise.” He sighed.

 

“Who’s the monster in disguise?” Wooyoung curiously asked.

 

“Wow! You’re hearing is great! I only whispered that and you were able to hear it clearly?! Amazing! Anyway, how are you and Taeyeon.” Junho talked so much just to be able to avoid talking about Hyoyeon.

 

“And you, buddy, have great avoidance skills.” Wooyoung laughed before he continued, “We’ll talk about Taeyeon and me later. Let me know first who the monster in disguise is.”

 

“Okay. I really do not want to talk about her so I’ll just make this short. She’s one of my co-teachers. She was the one who tried to get me fired. She’s making my life a living hell. And she even likes that priest. What type of girl on her right mind falls in love with a priest? And she does curse a lot. In a place where she was supposed to be a role model to her students and all she does is curse. I’ve heard her say those kinds of things a few times. It doesn’t matter if she’s pretty. Her attitude makes me sick. Maybe that’s the reason why she doesn’t have a boyfriend. So I wasn’t even sure that she doesn’t have a boyfriend. I just thought that because of the way she acted towards the priest and I really don’t care...” He trailed off and looked at Wooyoung, who had a mixed emotion at the moment. And when he couldn’t control it anymore, Wooyoung laughed very loud which made the other passengers stare at him strangely.

 

“Woo, stop laughing. People are staring. There’s nothing funny about it.” Junho was annoyed.

 

“Yes, something’s funny! Don’t try to stop me because I’ll not be able to control it more...” Wooyoung said in between laughs.

 

“I don’t understand you. You act weird right now, just like Suzy.” Junho said.

 

“Let’s talk about Suzy later okay. As for now, let me tell you what was funny about what you just said. First of all, you really didn’t want to tell me about her, right? I accidentally heard you whisper something that made me ask you about her. Then when I just thought you’re going to keep it short because she’s not a nice topic to talk about, you started talking and just went on and on and on like a crazy love sick person...” Wooyoung was smiling maliciously.

 

“What’s that smile about? You wanted me to talk about her then when I did, you say crazy things. Just shut up okay.” Junho was annoyed again.

 

“Now I seriously know what this is all about. Buddy, I think for the first time in your life, you’ve fallen in love.” Wooyoung said in a serious tone though he was smiling.

 

“What?! Are you kidding me right now? You’re not serious, right? You’re talking non-sense again. Maybe you miss Taeyeon so much and you have nothing to do so you’re focusing all your energy on me. You’re so irritating.” Junho said.

 

Wooyoung just looked at him, smiled and then looked on the window. He thought, ‘Poor Suzy. She wasn’t able to confess yet and now Junho has someone else he likes. I can’t tell him what she feels, I don’t have the right. They better talk soon or else things will just get worse.’

 

Junho looked on the other window and also had thoughts of his own, ‘What is this guy talking about? I already admit to being attracted to Hyoyeon but falling in love with her, that’s going overboard. It’s a crazy thought. I have many other things to think about aside from this.’ He convinced himself that he should concentrate on other things but during the remaining time n the bus, all his thoughts were about Hyoyeon and the possibility of him falling in love with her.

 

Junho’s thoughts were cut when Wooyoung tapped him hard on the arm and said, “Buddy, our stop. Let’s get off this bus.” Junho just followed Wooyoung as they walk to the street where the orphanage was located. As they were entering, a black car almost hit the two of them. They weren’t mad and just bowed as a sign of apology but the driver got down and shouted at them, “Are you two stupid? How could you walk on the middle of the road! If you want to die, don’t get others involved. Stupid!” The two are starting to get mad when the window from the car’s back seat opened and a huge man said to them, “Don’t be stupid. Next time look at where you’re going!” The window closed again and they heard the man shouted at his driver who went inside the car and continued driving. The two were annoyed but just let it go. They didn’t want to ruin their day with that. As they entered the office of the head nun in the orphanage, they were welcomed very warmly.

 

“Oh! You’re a very lovely couple. How may I help you?” The head nun said.

 

“Mother superior, we’re not a couple. I think you’re mistaken.” Wooyoung tried hard to deny to the nun that they were in a relationship. But Junho thought otherwise and wanted to get back at Wooyoung for teasing him by how he looked so he said, “Baby, why are you lying to mother superior about our relationship? There’s nothing wrong with it, we love each other. You love me, right?” Junho linked his arms with Wooyoung’s and he gave him a peck on the cheek followed by his gorgeous eye-smile, which made the other squirm in disbelief.

 

“What a sweet couple! It’s nice seeing couples like you visiting our orphanage. Do you intend to adopt a kid? I find you two very young but if that’s your intention, another kid will have a great family then.” The nun said.

 

“I said we aren’t in a relationship.” Wooyoung said a bit annoyed. Seeing how his buddy reacted, Junho unlinked his arm and started to talk seriously to the nun. He took Ji-eun’s photo in his bag and showed it to her.

 

“We aren’t adopting a kid. We were just wondering about this little girl named Ji-eun. I know she’s grown already since this photo was taken but I just wanted to know where she is now.” Junho explained.

 

“Oh, Ji-eun, that lovely girl! She’s one of my favourite kids here. Very kind, friendly and helpful. I was wondering really hard why she was abandoned here in the orphanage. I was even sad when she was adopted but eventually I felt happy for her because she is with a wonderful family. The last thing I heard about her when she was adopted was that Mr. And Mrs. Kim, her new parents, will be migrating to the US. I haven’t heard from them since. I’m also dying to know how she is right now. A great kid, with a bright future, if you were to ask me.” The nun said.

 

“So, what else can you tell us about her. Anything special or a thing that makes her different from other kids. How can we recognize her if we were to look for her in a crowd?” It was Wooyoung who asked.

 

“Well, she really stood out for me because of her very nice attitude. I always thought that if her real parents were to see how great of a kid she’d become, they’d probably regret that they’d left her here. She was also very smart an even as a child, she was very vocal in saying that she’ll become one of the cpuntry’s greatest doctors.”  The nun said.

 

The nun explained this and she became emotional but Junho was struck by some of her words. ‘If her real parents were to see how great of a kid she’d become, they’d probably regret that they’d left her here.’ These words kept sounding in Junho’s mind. He thought that he doesn’t want his parents bashed that way but he wasn’t sure either how to defend them because he, himself, wasn’t sure what happened that time. He was starting to tear up so he excused himself from the office.

 

“Excuse me for a while.” He said and started running outside of the building.

 

Wooyoung saw this and already had an idea what made Junho act that way. He apologized to the nun and continued talking. “So, anything else you could tell us?” He asked.

 

“Well, why are you exactly looking for Ji-eun? I was curious because just a while ago, a man already came here trying to ask about Ji-eun as well. I was interested because it’s been a long time since she stayed here and you are searching for her just now. Well, that man has  been coming back here every once in a while trying to ask for her where-abouts, which I couldn’t give because I also haven’t heard from her.” The nun replied.

 

“The man with the car was looking for her?” Wooyoung asked as many thoughts are starting to run through his mind. He then continued by saying, “We were looking for her because she happened to be the long lost sister of our friend and he was searching for her real hard since she was sent away but we didn’t know where to find her and with that picture we showed you earlier, we found out that she lived here so we decided to pay you a visit.”

 

The nun just nodded and Wooyoung said again, “Can we just leave our contact number and if ever you have any news about her, feel free to give us a call.” He started writing Junho’s phone number in a paper and gave it to the nun. “By the way, my name’s Wooyoung and my friend was Yoon-hee. I’m sorry but we already have to leave but I sincerely thank you for accommodating us very well. Thank you very much.” With one last bow, he left and searched for Junho outside. He saw his friend sitting in the swing and sat on the opposite swing and started talking.

 

“Junho, we’re pressed for time. I think we have to find her soon.” Wooyoung said.

 

“What made you say that?” Junho asked.

 

“The man in the black car earlier, the nun said that he was looking for Ji-eun as well. She said that he has come here ever since she was adopted and he always checked how she was but mother superior wasn’t able to tell him anything because she hasn’t talked to Ji-eun as well.” Wooyoung explained.

 

 “What? He’s looking for her as well? I don’t know. I just thought that he was a bit familiar to me but I’m not sure because lately, most people I see looked familiar, like the stranger earlier who visited Suzy.” Junho said with a lot of thoughts in his mind.

 

“Well, we just have to work extra hard to find her soon. That man seemed rich and powerful. So we shouldn’t slack off. Let’s start with what the nun told us. It doesn’t make sense, however, that she knew JI-eun migrated to the States. How could Uncle Changmin say that she was studying at the biggest girls school in the city. That’s weird. Okay, another thing, she was adopted by the Kim family, she’s a nice kid and she wants to become a doctor. Have you met any kid in the school that fits the description?” Wooyoung said.

 

Junho thought hard again and said, “I’m not sure. As you can see, Kim is one of the most common surnames in this country and probably out of 500 girls in that school, around 200 has that surname. I’ve met many nice kids as well. And it’s hard to locate her just by basing from what she wanted to become in the future. I mean all children say they will be doctors some day, right?” He said while shaking his head. “Seriously coming here didn’t help us a bit. It just made me feel bad that I couldn’t even defend my parents while they were being bashed by the nun.”

 

Wooyoung didn’t know what to say but he thought right, Junho walked out because of the nun’s statement.  In an attempt to make him feel better, Woo asked him to eat but the other refused and said he wanted to be just alone so they separated at the orphanage and just agreed to meet at their home later that night.

 

Junho felt lost. With that man searching for his sister as well, she was in grave danger but he doesn’t know how to find her that fast. He thought that even after looking at his father’s diary, the history inside it will only help him be clear about why something like this has happened but how to move forward, he was quite sure, he wouldn’t find it in the diary. He was hopeless. He wanted to rest but their home is very far. He found a bus stop and just sat there. He closed his eyes and started to cry. His mind is working overtime right now. He had so many thoughts and he can’t do anything. He’s crying became louder but he didn’t mind the people from the bus stop who’re looking at him. He doesn’t mind because he has many things to concentrate on at the moment.

 

Wooyoung, on the other hand, was already hungry and he wanted to make his friend feel better and seeing that he wasn’t successful, he sort of lost his appetite as well so he just went at the park and called his girlfriend Taeyeon.

 

“Hey baby! How are you? I’ve missed you.” He said.

 

“Of course I missed you too. I’m a bit busy with work. Many projects have been assigned to me. I’ve wanted to call you days ago but I was stuck with work. How are you, too? Have you found a job?” She asked.

 

Wooyoung was about to answer when he heard her sneezing. “Baby, are you sick?” He asked worriedly.

 

“I was really busy with work lately and I caught a cold but after hearing your voice, I felt a lot better.” She said.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me? Are you sure you’re okay? Don’t make me worry too much, please. Take care of yourself for me.” He said.

 

“I didn’t tell you because I know you’d get worried but I really feel a lot better now. So stop worrying about me okay? Tell me what’s happening there now?” She was successful in changing the subject as Wooyoung started talking about his day.

 

“Well, I haven’t found a job until now. Being a physical therapist in this city is not a great thing. It seems as if no one needs my service. All hospitals are full already. But I’ll still keep searching. I don’t get bothered by it either. I have to be strong for everyone else. Junho still continues to have a hard time .The clues we have just leads us to various dead ends. We just went to an orphanage and just found not-too-helpful information. I don’t know how to help him.” Wooyoung said in a very sorry tone.

 

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. I bet Junho is just happy that you’re there with him every step of the way. Don’t be sad either because even though I’m far away, I’ll still be able to feel it and be sad by myself. I hope Junho and Suzy gets together so they can be happier, I mean despite of all the troubles you’re having.” She said randomly.

 

“That’s another thing. We both know how much Suzy likes Junho right? Earlier, a guy fetched Suzy and they had another misunderstanding and Suzy left the house crying. And after being alone with Junho, I found out that he likes a co-worker in the school but he can’t confess because everyone knows him a  a girl. Ahh. Nothing seems to be working right for those two. I want them to be okay again but if Suzy confesses, Junho will just break her heart, and our problem will just get bigger.” Wooyoung explained and then continued with, “I just wish you’re here with me baby. That would be a breath of fresh air from all this drama.”

 

“I’m sorry that I can’t be with you. Just know that I’m always here, okay? And if ever times are becoming harder, I’m just a call away. I’d make you happy in no time. I love you so much! ” Taeyeon said.

“I love you too baby. Thanks for always being there for me...” He was about to say something else when he saw two suspicious, large men moving towards his direction. He was forced to cut the call short. “Hey baby. I’ll call you again soon. I have to go. I love you. Bye.” He hung up the phone.

 

“Are you Jang Wooyoung?” One of the men asked him.

 

“What do you want?” He asked back. Then one of the men pulled out a knife from his pocket and attempted to stab Wooyoung. His body was their target but he was able to dodge it. However, he was stabbed in the arm.  He was able to run and hide for a while in a mall. It was one of the days when the mall was filled with lots of people. He thought he was lucky. But he heard running footsteps from where he was hiding so he waited a bit for them to pass and he ran the opposite direction. He was standing in a store that sells shoes when he saw a kid wearing shorts, rubber shoes, a sweatshirt and a cap. He was starting to get dizzy already when the kid talked to him.

 

“Excuse me, mister. I think you’re bleeding. Are you okay?” The kid, who turned out to be a girl asked him.

 

“I... I...” Wooyoung said before everything around him turned black...