Ji Hoo’s POV

Ji Hoo parked in front of Mandy’s apartment building and got out of his car with a bouquet of yellow roses and a tub of vanilla ice cream. He got into the elevator and pushed the button for the fourth floor. Mandy’s house was the fifth one out of the six on the floor. He rang the doorbell and waited for her to open the door, but she didn’t. He rang a few times more but still no answer. He was starting to get worried now. He called her on her cell phone but it went straight to voicemail. He was a lot worried now. He called Woo Bin and updated him on the whole situation. “Don’t worry, I’ll put my men out and also alert others, you go search for her in the places she might go to” said Woo Bin from the other end of the line.

“I will, but I’m worried because she doesn’t know the city that good and has barely been anywhere other than the places I’ve taken her.”

Woo Bin then alerted his men and sent them out to find her, but it would be difficult as they didn’t have a picture of her and would just have to find her by her clothes; a beige top with dark brown trousers and beige oxford shoes with a brown sling bag.

He also alerted Jun Pyo and Yi Jung about it and told them to look for her. Jun Pyo postponed his meeting and went out to find her and also told his security personnel to find her.  More than a hundred people were trying to find Mandy.  But she was nowhere to be found.

Yi Jung and Ga Eul also finished their date and were trying to find her.  Everyone gathered near her apartment building and spread out in the four directions. Ji Hoo was going mad out of worry and blamed himself for everything that was happening. “Why did I have to shout at her? Uggh” he let out a frustrated sigh as he parked his car in front of the ice cream parlor where they had gone on her first weekend.  Ji Hoo got out of his car and started moving towards the shop.  When he opened the door of the parlor, he saw a girl with waist long hair and a ray of hope ignited within him as he started towards the person standing at the counter, but it turned that it was not Mandy. Ji Hoo then went outside and dialed the F4 network hoping for some good news but to no avail.  He then again tried Mandy’s cell phone but it went straight to voice mail. He left his 19^th message for the evening on her number

“Hey, it’s me again; look I know I was an and didn’t trust you on the whole situation. But please just tell me where you are; if you don’t want to talk to me then don’t but talk to someone else and just let me know that you are okay, please just call someone, anyone and go home or not if you don’t feel like it but please just let me know that you are okay.”

Ji Hoo had gone bat crazy and was not far from the state of a mental patient. Mandy had been a constant presence for him in the last two months and her sudden disappearance made him feel lost, like his anchor to reality was gone; the reality that he could move on from Jan Di and continue on with his life, but now Mandy’s disappearance made him feel like the past two months were only a good dream and now it was time to wake up to harsh reality.  He turned his car around and went back to her apartment in hope of finding her.

He sat beside her locked door with his cell phone in his hand. He was so exhausted from the whole scene that soon he fell asleep on the floor in front of her apartment.

Mandy’s POV

Mandy had been terribly hurt by what Ji Hoo had said. She had always tried to control her tears in front of someone, but his words had stung like knives to her heart and the dam had burst. She couldn’t believe that even Ji Hoo won’t believe in her. She ran out of the lounge and took a cab. She wanted to go to her apartment, but decided against it; the emptiness would eat her from inside. So she told the taxi driver to turn in the direction of Uijeongbu.

She put her phone to voicemail and threw it in her bag. She knew that today only in the presence of the sounds of home would she find a little peace. When she reached her apartment at 11 in the night, she was totally exhausted and just wanted to take a hot soak in the tub, go to sleep and never wake up. But her plans got derailed when she saw Ji Hoo lying on the floor in front of her door. She rushed to him and saw that he had just fallen asleep. She took out her phone to call Woo Bin to fetch Ji Hoo and saw that she had 25 voicemails in her account. The first thought she had was that something had happened back at home and started listening to the voicemails one by one. She again burst out in tears when she heard Ji Hoo’s voice over and over again, pleading her, begging her to let him know that she was okay, to tell her that he was sorry.

She unlocked her door and went in to put her bag and other carry-ons. She then again went back outside and tried to wake Ji Hoo, but to no avail. ‘I would have to carry him myself then’ she thought and rolled up her sleeves, literally and figuratively. She piggybacked him to her room and deposited him on the bed. She took off his boots and jacket and tucked him in. She then took a quick hot shower, changed into her pajamas, took out the extra blanket from her closet and settled on the couch for the night. Soon sleep came to her and she slept like a log.

She woke up at around noon to the smell of paranthas (a type of Indian bread, usually eaten during breakfast). She felt like she was back home in India when she ate them every morning with butter and curd. But when she opened her eyes, she realized that she was in Seoul only, in her room. ‘I must be feeling nostalgic’ she thought and continued on with her morning processes. When she entered the bathroom, she felt that something was amiss but didn’t give it much thought. She came out after taking a shower in her bathrobe and stood in front of her open closet, like she did every day, to select her clothes for the day. That’s when she saw the shoes; black, masculine, not her style and definitely not her size. But somehow they seemed familiar. The events of last evening came rushing back to her and she ran to the kitchen, in her bathrobe only and saw Ji Hoo’s back towards her. He turned with a plateful of paranthas in his hands and smiled when he saw her. But when he saw the condition she was in, he turned scarlet and shifted his gaze towards the plate in his hands.

“I didn’t want to wake you up and also decided to make breakfast for you. I looked it up on the net using your ipad, I hope you don’t mind. I took a shower too. I also shifted you to your bed when I woke up in the morning and also wanted to say thanks for letting me stay the night” he kept rambling on, uncomfortable to be in the presence of a not-so-clothed Mandy. “And I set the table, so why don’t you get ready and we can have breakfast” he said.

Mandy then realized about her clothing (or more like the lack of it) and rushed back into her room and shut her door. She screamed into her hands. ‘Just great, I made a fool out of myself in front of him; please God kill me now’ she thought. She composed herself and selected a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and went outside to face him.