Chapter LVI:

Lost and Found

08:32 PM KST

The rain fell in torrents, like God had up the ocean and spit it over their heads in fury. The sky continued darkening with thunderclouds and it seemed the ever so cruel universe had no plans of stopping the storm as the heavens rumbled ominously. The icy rain didn't falter as well.

Squeezing his eyes shut, and wiping the raindrops off his closed lids, Donghae took a deep breath. Took another one, and another in a vain attempt to ease the horrible, erratic thumping in his chest. It was as if a large bird was trapped inside his ribcage and beating itself to death. Panic, fear and fatigue wasn’t mixing well in him, and he couldn't think straight. A whirlpool of emotions drowned whatever logic existed in his mind. All he knew was that he had to find Dara, and fast.

“Sandara might try to kill herself again!”

The echoes of Bom's grim words roared against his ears louder than the rumbling thunders of the sky. Each word was a punch of disbelief on his gut. It sounded so impossible. Donghae couldn't quite comprehend why Dara would ever do such a horrid thing. She was the most complicated woman he met, yes, but at the same time, she was a person who was both admirably strong and independent. His lawyer was a force to be reckoned with, someone who could easily shut a person's mental capacities by simply exuding the force of her confidence. This was the Sandara he knew. Not someone who'd decide to go on a suicidal spree all of sudden, and surprise the out of him. No. It wasn't like her. That person was entirely someone else. Gods, she even once stopped a drunken man—which surprisingly turned out as Taeyong—from killing himself. Why would she do the same thing now?

But if Bom was right…

No. No. No. He wouldn't risk it.  Despite his doubts, a gut feeling told him it wasn’t truly as impossible as he thought it would be. After witnessing Dara's strange behaviors and sudden episode akin to a panic attack on the ramp, he couldn't dismiss the probability of Bom's warning. And especially after what happened last night, on what he did and said to her, at the memory of devastation on her face, on the brokenness of her voice...Oh, God, what had he done? If anything happened to her—

Donghae shook his head, and dismissed the thought. He wouldn't allow that. He would find her. He would take her back safely and apologize. He will save her from the throes of whatever nightmares haunted her.

And after that, when all things are settled, I will confess. Come hell or high water.

If only the odds were in his favor.

Damn it.

They’ve been barraging the rooms and the whole resort had been flipped upside down. He and his friends had already passed through numerous structures. All of them had worked together in an attempt to find Dara, all the Super Junior members—with an exclusion of Siwon, who needed to stay behind and look after Bom—searched for every nook and cranny but failed in locating his lawyer. Even Seungri and you immediately joined the search party the moment they knocked on their doors in hopes of finding Dara in their rooms. But after almost half an hour, Donghae still haven't found his lawyer.

It seemed as though she completely vanished without leaving any traces or pint of clues of her whereabouts. The man grew anxious by each passing second. Where in the world could she be hiding?

This was driving him insane.

“Have you seen her yet?” A call behind him took Donghae's attention. It was Leeteuk, flanked by Kangin, Heechul, and Ryeowook, who were all just as soaked and haggard as he was. They were now gathered at the resort's bowling alley, the building hollow and silent without its usual backdrops of laughter, music and the rumbling noises of balls striking pins. The others—Eunhyuk, Seungri and you —were still outside, discussing the matter with the hotel management.

“No,” he responded in heavy pants, and leaned his back against the wall, crestfallen. “She's not here.”

“Oh, for heaven's sake, where could she be?” Leeteuk sighed, and dragged a hand down his face, turning in a circle, double checking their surroundings. “With this storm things are getting very difficult.”

“Hyung, What if she isn't at the resort anymore?” Ryeowook stated, wiping his face using the drenched sleeves of his jacket.

Sitting on the bench across the guy, Shindong bobbed his head. A grave look of concern clouded his usual jovial face. “We have searched the whole resort already, shaken up the guests and employees, but still we haven't seen Dara.” he said. “She could've run away from the premises of this place.”

“That’s possible,” Eunhyuk then came joining them, Seungri and you walking behind him, all shoulders were slumped. “When we asked the management to take a look at the CCTVs, they said the cameras jammed up because of the heavy rain. If she did pass by the gates they wouldn’t notice it.” He then cast his best friend a frown. “This is a big problem.”

His heart missed a beat. Donghae stiffened and stared the latter with terrified look, eyes widening in apprehension, while everyone else exchanged leaden glances among each other. What if she was already outside, running aimlessly along the darkened streets? Or lost amid the deep forests of DongBaek Island? This wasn't good. The strange island was already dangerous at night, what more with if it's accompanied by this goddamned storm?

“If she's out there, then we need to get to her immediately.” Seungri's panicked voice permeated through the fog of Donghae's mind.

“I can't let that happen.” Leeteuk shook his head. “It's very dangerous. We can't just run off around this unfamiliar island especially when it’s dark and raining. One missing person is already a maddening situation, what more if one or two of you goes missing as well? What we can do now is to call for the authority. They know this place and they know what to do. The resort management has already reported it. Let's just trust that they could find Dara on time.”

Donghae was in front of Leeteuk in an instant, and shot the older with a grave look. “At least let me go,” he said. “You can't possibly expect me to sit here all night doing nothing, hyung. I have to go and find her.”

Leeteuk was silent for a second. The frown on his face deepening as a flash of confliction glimmered in his tired eyes. Finally, he shook his head again and said, “Donghae, I said it's dangerous. You can't—”

Without warning, Donghae whirled and slammed his fist against the nearest wall. The sound it made on the concrete startled everyone. “Goddamn it, hyung!” he snarled, unable to control his emotions anymore. “She's out there, alone and possibly suicidal. I will find her, and I won't let anyone stop me!”

Leeteuk and the others could only stare at him in silence.

The man then turned away from them and stormed towards the doors, but when he was about to step outside the recreational center, a figure blocked his way. Donghae was already a second close towards shouting at this person and shoving him away, but when he realized ‘him’ wasn’t even appropriate to use with this person, Donghae stopped on his tracks. He stood directly in front of you, who in a rather surprising manner, reached out a hand to him.

“Take this, oppa,” she said. Donghae dropped his gaze at her closed palms and noticed the keys in her grasp. He raised his brows at her.  “You can't possibly run on the streets with this storm and expect to find Dara without collapsing first, right?” She took his hand and placed the keys in it, drilling the man with the sharpness of her eyes and the stark hope on her face. “You have to find her, okay?” she whispered. “Take her back and save her, oppa.”

Taking the keys, Donghae nodded, grateful. “I will.”

And he meant it.

Behind him, their leader heaved an exasperated sigh, “Just don’t do anything reckless,” Leeteuk said. “And be very careful, Donghae.”

“Make sure you keep your phone with you.” Now it was Eunhyuk who spoke to him. “We will try our best helping you through it.”

Glancing back at them, Donghae nodded his head once more, hyper aware of his phone tucked safely and dry within the pocket of his pants. In the next hours it’d be his lifeline.

Heechul then walked over and punched his arm lightly as if for encouragement. “This is your love story,” he said,  “Make sure to end it well.”

Despite everything that has been twisting his insides, Donghae drew a chuckle, then said with conviction;

“I plan on it.”

08:50 PM KST

Damn it. Damn damn damn!

Lee Donghae cursed at every droplet of rain splashing against the windshield of you’s car. Just as what Leeteuk said, they had no idea about the road systems of this island. And now he felt so stupid driving without any sense of direction. They came here by plane and rode a bus, for Christ sake, why didn’t he have the instinct of familiarizing himself with the streets when he had the chance? Donghae could barely see the streets in front of him with this damned sheet of liquefied hindrance falling from the sky. And to add to his torment, his cellphone—which was supposed to Donghae lifeline—had ran out of battery minutes ago. The urge to shatter the useless device into millions of pieces was almost tempting.

How perfect could this night be?

During his last phone conversation with the others back at the resort, Eunhyuk had informed him, with palpable distaste in his voice, that the search party would likely delay their aid due to this damned storm, which ultimately left Donghae scurrying the road on his own  for the next painstaking hours.

Great. Amazing. Perfect!

But despite his desperation for haste, Donghae drove in a careful and subtle speed. If he wanted to survive this night and find Dara, then he had to keep himself alert and eyes open. He had to drive and at the same time, assess his surroundings for any chance of sighting her traces. It would have been much easier to have someone else here with him, but then again, going alone was a better option. Donghae didn’t want to burden his friends. Also, Leeteuk was right; running about in this strange place was dangerous. Better keep his focus solely on Dara’s safety, than dividing it as he worries for some else’s sake, right?

All of a sudden, a flash of lightning sundered the night sky, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Donghae flinched at the sound, and groaned, tightening his hold around the steering wheel. In the next second, he found himself pulling the car to the nearest curb and stepped on the brakes.

Oh, holy damn, this was impossible. So freaking impossible. How could he find Dara in this kind of situation? And the time...he was running out of time! Each second spent confined inside the car felt like allowing one among the hundreds of tragic possibilities to ensnare his lawyer within its sharpened claws. Hopelessness and dread had dug a hole in his heart, his chest caving in. Donghae felt utterly helpless and useless, and he hated himself for it. He needed something.

Anything.

Blowing out a steadying breath, the man lifted his eyes skyward, past the car’s headliner and toward something beyond. The sounds of heavy rain had never left him, it was a constant droning sound against his ears, a continuous jabbing reminder that Sandara was alone out there, drenched and freezing and suffering beneath the storm. He took another breath, and whispered;

“Please, please, let me find her...”

Once in his life, Donghae didn’t believe in religion. But with the things that has happened, especially during the dark times of his murder case, the idol began believing in a higher power, of some divine intervention t