C H A P T E R  F O U R
lost (and found)


 

Luhan woke up screaming. 

He's been waking up in the wee hours of the morning covered in cold sweat and his throat sore and dry from screaming for a few consecutive days now, for no reason.

He's been having a dream, but it's a dream so indecipherable that Luhan himself can't even understand. It involved rain and a woman in white running away but those are the only things Luhan can remember. Everything else is a blurry outlined mess.

Luhan sat up straight on the bed, wrapped in what he thought felt like several blankets. The lights were switched off which scared Luhan even more. He wiped the sweat off with the back of his hand futilely and stood up with shaking legs. He walked to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked like a ghost with several layers of BB cream slapped on his face. He was shaking so badly that he can't stabilize himself.

He checked the time. It was past midnight and dawn was near, so he tried to calm himself for the next few hours and catch up on missing work. He opened his laptop and the bright light emitting from it temporarily blinded him, but he lived and constantly rubbed his eyes of sleep. So many calls, so many documents, so many legal stuff, so many patents and whatnot. They all swam in his mind and most of them did not stay long, going in one ear and then out the other.

"Coffee?" He heard a soft voice say and in front of him was a mug of steaming hot, delicious, black coffee. He looked up at the owner of the slim hand holding the mug and it was Yoona, hair still messy and her face makeup-less.

"Good morning Im Yoona-ssi. Why are you awake so early?" Luhan asked softly.

"I could ask you the same." Yoona laughed. "Take it. You need it." Yoona offered the mug of coffee to Luhan and the latter took it, taking greedy sips.

"Thank you Yoona-ssi."

"What would you like for breakfast?" Yoona asked and turned to walk to the kitchen, tying her hair into a bun.

"Is there any food in the fridge? You don't need to burden yourself with cooking breakfast for me anyway. Cook for yourself. I could always order." Luhan said.

"Fast food's not a healthy breakfast. Where's the nutrition in that? You could use something that could give you energy for the whole day, seeing as you're busy 24/7. And it's not a burden to cook for two people really, I'm used to it. So what would you like?"

"Just eggs please. However you'd like to cook them." Luhan said softly, embarrassed that this woman he barely knew is acting like a mother for him. He didn't find it annoying. It's actually refreshing and... and endearing.

Yoona nodded and proceeded to cook in the kitchen. Surprisingly, there was a good supply of unexpired food in the kitchen. Yoona began to cook eggs for the both of them, plus bacon and kimchi fried rice. It was energizing to cook as it takes the stress away in forms of making something inedible (somewhat) into something delicious. She wondered how Sehun could be doing right now, as he can't cook a decent meal for himself and depended on Yoona for all his three meals per day.

, I forgot about Sehun.

Yoona hurriedly turned off the gas and grabbed her phone from her bag. Sure enough, there were about a hundred missed calls, messages and voice mails from Sehun only.

Yah noona some woman came to look for you today.

Noona the bakery kept calling. Said they wanted to talk about the cake. Should I call them back?

Noona I borrowed a bit of money for food.

Noona it's getting late.

Noona where are you?

Noona why aren't you answering my calls?

YAH IM YOONA WHERE ARE YOU?

YAH YOONA YOU'RE SCARING ME

YOONA YOU'RE LEGITIMATELY SCARING ME.

WHERE ARE YOU YOONA? IF YOU'RE NOT BACK HERE WITHIN THE HOUR I'M FILING A POLICE REPORT.

Oh god Im Yoona where are you I swear to the high heavens.

"Oh dear god." Yoona sighed, disappointed at herself. Why didn't she notify Sehun that she was going to be 'late'? She was basically his guardian now ever since he was a freshman.

"Why?" Luhan looked up from his laptop screen.

"I... I forgot a-about my f-friend Sehun. He's probably... going crazy right now." Yoona dialed Sehun's number and tried calling him, but it was disconnected. She tried again, and again, and again.

"Give me your phone. Let me help." Luhan said and Yoona handed her phone to him. Yoona was trembling hard, afraid of what was happening to Sehun right now. Luhan entered some kind of code into Yoona's phone, enabling her phone to have high signals and no credit limit.

"How did you do that?"

"I own a telecommunications company, Yoona-ssi. Of course I know this. Go on, try and call him." Luhan handed her phone back and Yoona quickly dialed Sehun's number again.

"YAH IM YOONA WHERE ARE YOU?" Sehun's voice immediately ran in Yoona's ear so loudly that she had to detach the phone from her ear then put it back again.

"O-Oh Sehun-ah, I'm really sorry I didn't call you back-"

"YAH, DO YOU KNOW HOW I HAD TO RESTRAIN MYSELF FROM FILING A MISSING PERSON REPORT? WHERE ARE YOU IM YOONA?"

"I'm... I actually don't know where I am Sehun-ah. Luhan-ssi and I were supposed to go to the reception place I was talking to you about, the one I had to memorize over and over again, but I think I got a number wrong so we ended up... somewhere. We're in a motel co-owned by him so maybe you could search it up. I'm really sorry."

"You're with Sir Luhan? Yah you're going past the boundaries now noona." Sehun said over the phone with a teasing lilt in his voice, the anger and worry dissipating.

"What-What are you talking- YAH! Sehun I- I did n-no such thing!"

"Noona remember that he's getting married and that you're the wedding planner-"

"OH SEHUN!"

"Just kidding noona~" Sehun used his aegyo voice over the phone and Yoona felt the anger melt away until he remembered the real deal.

"Yah you kid, what did you do while I was away? Why did you borrow money from me?"

"I answered all the calls yesterday and negotiated with those professional people. Do you know how embarrassing it was to look for this kind of file when all your files are in a mess? You need to clean up noona. And I borrowed money for food, because I care about you and about this house and I know you don't want to come back home to a burning mess." 

"Is it only for food? Knowing you, it could've been for a date. How's that girl called Haemi coming along?" Yoona teased,.

"Yah noona! No making fun of my love life please, and it really is only for food. NOW WHERE ARE YOU?"

"I opened the GPS on my phone, so track me down but I'll probably be back later."

"Don't the groom okay?" Sehun said and the phone call was disconnected.

"YAH OH SEHUN! This kid." Yoona massaged her temple and put the phone back in her bag.

"That was quite a conversation, Miss Yoona." Luhan chuckled, making Yoona confused.

"W-What are you talking about?"

"I have your call records here, an audio record. Sehun seems intent on making us a pair."

"You have what? Don't mind that kid, he has a terrible sense of humor." Yoona went back to cooking some more then finally laying their shared breakfast out on table. Luhan eagerly paused catching up on missed work and sat at the table. Yoona led the grace and Luhan immediately scooped up big portions of food onto his plate.

"Slow down, you're leaving nothing for me." Yoona laughed, getting her food and eating it. Luhan ate like a madman to be honest, putting the spoon filled with food in his mouth in lightning speed and always asking for more. 

"But I'm hungry~" Luhan said, muffled because of the amount of food in his mouth. He looked very much like a hamster which made Yoona giggle.

Oh my god Yoona you child seriously, Yoona's subconscious says.

"Then go cook more for yourself." Yoona said.

"Yoona-ssi~ leave some for me~" Luhan said, pouting and making his cheeks bigger to appear cuter.

"Yah, what side of Luhan-ssi am I seeing?"

"What side? I'm just asking you to cook more for me." Luhan got what's left of the plate and ate it again, and burped out loud.

"Excuse me~"

"Yah you're full already. I won't cook anything for you." Yoona got all the dirty plates and silverware piled and put them in the sink for washing. Yoona set about to washing when he saw another pair of hands lathering a sponge with dishwashing soap.

"Can I help?" Luhan said. His sleeves were already rolled and he was already holding a ready sponge.

"Why bother asking if you're already set on doing it? Aish. Go ahead." Yoona said and her and Luhan set on washing the dishes. Yoona washed the plates while Luhan washed the silverware, and Yoona rinsed them while Luhan put them inside the dishwasher. While moving the shower head-like tap, Luhan accidentally sprayed Yoona with a lot of water, making the her front wet.

"Yah!" Yoona screamed out in indignation, trying to cover up her chest as she was wearing a white shirt and the water made it practically see-through. Luhan instinctively covered his eyes and set down the movable tap without closing it, thereby spraying them with more water. Yoona just looked at their situation with her eyes wide and open.

"Yah Luhan-ssi! Are you doing this in purpose or-or... I'm practically half- right now! Yah I swear-!"

"Yoona-ssi, have you forgotten who you're talking too?" Luhan asked, never minding how wet he is and how they - or rather, he - made the kitchen a mess. He is partly at fault and he is the reason why Yoona is freaking out, but she must also remember her standing in superiority, and that is behind Luhan.

"I don't care if I am a beggar and you are a god, but you've been giving me a lot of trouble right now and-" Yoona stopped her tirade and watched with even bigger eyes as Luhan turned around.

"Close your eyes." And Yoona did. Seconds, minutes, what seemed to Yoona as hours, passed by and she felt secure arms wrapping cloth on her. She still did not open her eyes as she wasn't told to open and only did so when she hears Luhan say so. Upon opening her eyes, she sees that her front is covered with Luhan's shirt and Luhan is now wearing a simple white tee.

"What did you do while my eyes were closed?" Yoona asked, putting the shirt over her own wet one.

"I changed so I could give you that one. It's the only thing I could do without directly apologizing. My pride wouldn't allow it." Luhan said and cleaned what mess he made.

Yoona felt ashamed and angry at the same time. Ashamed that Luhan, her superior, had to do what was initially her mess as she had cooked the food therefore she was also supposed to clean. Angry that Luhan can't apologize to her for causing a mess because it was against his pride. What does his pride have to do with simply apologizing because he made a mess? Is it because he's higher compared to Yoona? He really needed to be put down a peg or two.

Yoona stomped out of the kitchen and furiously took notes on a notebook, little details that she remembers Joohyun tell her days before. But as she scanned her notes, all of them contained her innermost thoughts and feelings about the current situations, along with minimal details about the wedding. Her handwriting was sharp, deep and angular as opposed to her elegant cursive handwriting.

"Aish! You're going to give me a heart attack someday Luhan-ssi." Yoona muttered angrily under her breath. When she returned to the kitchen to clean, she found that it was almost spotlessly clean and that Luhan continued washing. He was still at work when Yoona entered the kitchen, so she leaned on the kitchen's door frame and looked at Luhan.

His arm muscles slightly flex when carrying big pans so they can be washed. 

His hands, specifically the back of his palm, would wipe away the layer of sweat accumulating on his forehead.

He would occasionally rub his upper back muscles and rub his eyes of sleep or water.

And he was staring at her.

And she just stared back.

If this were a drama, the ones Sehun hated watching, Yoona could already hear in her head the slow love song or ballad and she could already see the 360 degree panning of the camera during the editing.

What kind of cheesiness are you conjuring up Im Yoona? Do you even realize what you're doing? You're staring at Luhan-ssi, in the cheesy drunk-in-love way. Snap out of it!

"Oh my god I'm so sorry. That must've come out as rude and creepy. I-I'm r-really sorry." Yoona looked away and Luhan looked at her in confusion.

"What are you talking about Yoona-ssi?" Luhan asked.

"U-U-Umm... talking back to you. It must've been rude. I'm really sorry." Yoona quickly invented something partly true.

"O-O...kay. It's no problem." Luhan said nonchalantly, but still confused about why Yoona was apologizing. Luhan knew it wasn't about her talking back to him, as he heard her silent rant about him. So what is it about?

But Luhan put things like that at the very back of his mind to be examined further at a later time and put current concerns first, such as where the nearest gas station is.

He has asked the receptionist and the owner of the restaurant adjacent to the motel for the nearest gas station but they all knew none within the vicinity. Given that this is kind of an isolated city, no proper business ventures happen here except for this little motel Luhan knew not how and why it was built in a place like this. Communication over phone also became hard for Luhan, as the signals were incredibly weak even though he's already altered his phone the same way he did to Yoona's. Things like this should be as easy as breathing for the would-be owner of a company directly controlling telecommunications, but it seemed near impossible with Luhan.

It made Luhan frustrated. It made him feel weak and small and have no control. He isn't a control freak, but he liked having some control, putting some sense in his actions and this was definitely not it. Not only was he missing work (it surprises Luhan why nobody has still filed for a missing person report for him, but he supposes the employees think he's on a vacation), he was also missing on important meetings. Yoona doesn't bother him much, in fact in the very very back of his mind a voice called out to him telling him not to go back to work anymore because he feels comfortable and at ease here with her, but Luhan being Luhan he pushed such senseless things back, further and further until he won't be able to dig them up anymore.

"Luhan-ssi! Call for you!" Yoona said from the other side of the room. Sure enough the telephone that was connected to the reception three floors below rang loudly.

"Hello?"

"Is this Kim Han of Room 3490 of Floor 3?"

"Yes, what is the problem?"

"I found the nearest gas station from here. Could you please come down and I'll give you the address and phone number." As soon as Luhan heard this, he felt rejuvenated by all the good feelings in the world, from happiness to hope to even ecstasy, that he wished good to all the people in the world and felt like jumping all over the place. This kind of Luhan can rarely be seen and sometimes comes out in the silliest of situations, and with that he must control himself.

"Thank you. I'll send my... my cousin to fetch it. Thank you very much." Luhan put down the telephone and struggled to control himself.

"Y-Yoona-ssi, c-can you go down and fetch the a-address and n-number of the nearest gas station here." Luhan asked of Yoona, trying to keep his feelings under control. Yoona raised an eyebrow at Luhan's behavior but agreed nonetheless and went three floors down to the reception.

"I'm here to get the address and the phone number of the gas station." Yoona was given a yellow sticky note where the address and number was scribbled. "How far exactly is this? Is this walking distance?"

"I don't think it is. You could call the number though and ask them to deliver the gas here, if that's possible." The receptionist said. Yoona thanked her and went back to their room.

"Luhan-ssi, how far exactly is this?" Yoona gave the piece of paper to Luhan who typed it in the map application of his phone. The red pin in the map pointed to where they currently are, and another red pin moved a few inches - or kilometers - further the first red pin, pointing at where the gas station is.

"It's approximately a kilometer away. I get why this city is like a ghost town. I guess we could always call them to deliver the gasoline here." Luhan sighed in relief. Not all hope is lost. While Luhan was calling the gas station, Yoona sat down on the couch, trying to take notes in her notebook that did not center around Luhan but at the wedding.

At the back of Yoona's mind, she felt disappointed that this little road trip has come to an end. It was nice getting to know more about this client of hers whose personality seemed shrouded in mystery and media play while also having some kind of adventure, a challenge. While they didn't really do any major kind of planning, it was fun getting to know more about Luhan, and experiencing things only a real couple should experience comfortably. It may be awkward at times, with Yoona's snappy subconscious constantly telling her that she should stop initiating such things, but overall it was fun and it's something Yoona is reluctant to let go off, unwilling for it to end.

"Can I help?" Luhan appeared next to her and sat down, scooting near her and peering at her notes. It made Yoona kind of irritated but flushed at the same time.

"Don't you have work to catch up to? I'm good, I could do this on my own."

"My fiancée would kill me if I went missing for a day and a half and returned doing nothing. While we wait for the gas, let me help." Luhan smiled.

"Alright. There's really not much to do but transcribe notes for me. Are you sure you'd prefer doing that over real office work?"

"Office work is boring as hell. Same old things, same old content, all I have to do is scan it over and then sign and my job's done. At least here I'm doing something different."

"Ahh excuses excuses Luhan-ssi. Are you sure you can do it? It's tedious work honestly." Yoona tried persuading Luhan one last time, but Luhan firmly refused. 

"Please. Watch some TV, relax or something. Let me do this for you at least. You've cooked breakfast for me, made coffee for me, endured my clumsy self, endured my prideful self. I'm really sorry that this is all I can do for you but I don't know how wedding planners work so..." Luhan looked down on his lap shyly.

What in the world? Is Luhan-ssi really apologizing? It wasn't direct, but he did say that he's sorry transcribing is all he can do for you but-

"Okay." Yoona surrendered. She handed Luhan her notebook and quite a pile of torn notes from the notebook. "I'll just be here though if you need any help." Yoona tried to relax her stiff shoulders and sink into the soft cushions of the couch. She the TV and watched afternoon dramas. She looked at Luhan from time to time but he was transcribing the notes diligently, not taking his eyes off the pile of scratch papers and the notebook, his little hands taking control of the pen gliding across page over page. Luhan barely asked questions; he just did as he was told. This made Yoona relax for a bit until she heard the doorbell ring.

"Can you answer the door for me please?" Luhan asked without taking his eyes off the notebook. Yoona did so and was greeted by a middle aged man in a blue tracksuit, a full 2 liter container of gasoline in his hands.

"Oh thank you very much. How much is this?" Yoona took the container and set it down. "About 5,000 won ma'am." Yoona paid the man along with extra that she told him he could keep.

"Luhan-ssi, the gasoline is here." Yoona said. Luhan promptly stood up and carried the container of gasoline and went out of the door, presumably to fill the car with gasoline. Luhan came back a few minutes later.

"Ready to go?" Luhan said, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Is that a statement or are you asking me if I'm ready to go?" Yoona asked which made Luhan laugh. "The second one."

"Oh. Yes I'm ready to go. Let's clean this first." Yoona stodd up and began to clean up. She pushed the scribbled notes into the notebook and put them inside her back and they helped with cleaning the accumulated trash.

Soon, they were inside the car, the cityscape of Seoul slowly appearing. It was a fairly long drive and Yoona fell asleep in the middle of it, waking up when they were already in the busy streets of Seoul.

"I'd really like to apologize again Luhan-ssi. I hope you can still believe in my credibility to do my job well."

"There's really no need to apologize Yoona-ssi. I understand why you have to, since you think you are at fault that something like this happened, but it didn't cause us any harm nor was it a problem for me. It may have been cumbersome when it came for work since I went almost AWOL, but I could've played it as a break. Honestly, don't put yourself down for it. It's okay. I also have no problems concerning your credibility as a wedding planner. It's an honest mistake." Luhan said, comforting Yoona's guilty conscience. 

"Thank you, thank you so much Luhan-ssi."

Luhan asked for the directions to Yoona's house and the latter dutifully pointed it out. Luhan sooned stopped in front of a rather large apartment near Gangnam. Luhan, being a gentleman, opened Yoona's door and escorted her out of the car and to her doorstep.

"Thank you so much Luhan-ssi."

"You're welcome Yoona-ssi. Take care of yourself and write the address down next time." Luhan said and Yoona laughed.

Yoona unlocked the door and an unexpected sight greeted her and Luhan.

"Luhan!"

author's note;
oh wow I think I updated sooner than I expected.

I was expecting I wouldn't update this for over a month and that I would have to take a break as my grades were below expectations but I decided to push through as writing is the only thing I can do where I can let out myself. So yeah wow here's an update for you guys. There would probably be a long difference between this and the next one as I would like to continue with editing Troubled and also focusing on my studies. I really hope you like this update and thank you for the continuous support this is so far my most 'successful' one in terms of subbies and upvotes and I'm very grateful for them. Please comment more and tell me what you think of this chapter it would mean a lot to me :)


〔science of deduction♦〕