TGIF

14 years later…

    Beep. Beep.

    At the sound of the alarm clock, a hand untangled itself from the bedsheets to smack the “off” button. A disgruntled figure rose from her blanket burrito and flopped out of bed. She trudged toward the bathroom, shivering a little due to the lack of covers that had kept her warm all night. After fixing herself up, she slipped into a pair of blue jeans and a mint-colored sweater. She gave a small smile to six little figurines on her dresser then slipped downstairs for breakfast. She made herself a slice of French toast and some tea. Then, she grabbed her navy blue backpack, slipped on some grey boots, and headed to the bus stop.

    Twenty-year-old Cho Sun was a current college student majoring in journalism. Like her father, she was absolutely brilliant, but preferred to use her talents in liberal arts instead of robotics and biochemistry.

    On the bus, Sun checked her smartphone to see a new message from her dad.

Hey sweetie!

Have a good day!! <3

Your favorite dad~

    She snorted at the childish language and sent a quick reply wishing him the same, then closed her phone and shut her eyes for a few moments. She had long since stopped constantly fretting over her father’s safety. The brilliant scientist was a prime subject for those wishing to steal and use his research for their own selfish reasons. However, nothing major had happen to him yet, and his robotic inventions continued to amaze and help those in need. Still, Sun couldn’t help feeling slightly queasy every day her dad was at work. What would she do without him?

    Sun’s mind immediately flew to the six robotic figures her dad had given her on her sixth birthday. They were still inanimate, but she couldn’t help feeling extremely attached to them. She had made them several different outfits over the years and often imagined what their personalities were like. She wondered if they would ever wake up, but didn’t doubt her father’s word that they could.

    The bus came to a shuddering stop and Sun hopped off. She rounded the corner and came face to face with her college campus. Students were milling about the entrance and cars were still scrounging the parking lot for open spaces. Sun walked toward the arts building and sighed quietly as the warm air hit her face, defrosting her nose and ears. Winter had come early and the October morning was quite chilly.

    After her classes, Sun met up with some friends for a late lunch at a little sandwich shop just off campus. They chatted and gossiped for a little while and exchanged ideas for an upcoming project, then Sun decided it was time to head home.

    The house was empty when she arrived, but this was normal. Her dad often worked late nights and occasionally wouldn’t come home at all. She grabbed an apple and sat down at her desk to start the draft of her next article for the school’s online newspaper. She had just finished the first paragraph when her cell phone dinged. She checked her messages to find one from her friend asking to go to the mall this weekend (There’s a huge sale on boots and I totes need some!). The other message was from her dad saying he was going to be home early today and he wanted to know if he should pick up some dinner. Sun quickly sent a reply saying she wanted Chinese tonight, then got back to working her magic on the computer.

    Her dad walked in right as she typed a brilliant ending to her article. “Hey, honey! I brought food!” he called.

    “Woo! Good timing,” she answered, hurrying downstairs to greet him with a peck on the cheek. “How was work?”

    “Pretty interesting, actually. We just fixed a problem with our self-cleaning robots that’s been bugging us for some time now. Soy sauce?” he offered.

    “Yes, please. That’s awesome! So they’re ready for the market?” she answered, taking the soy sauce packet from him and dumping it next to her dumplings.

    “Almost. We need to do one more test to make sure they’re safe. How was your day?”

    “Average. I just started a new article for the newspaper about the recent cuts in the space program. Oh, and May and Youngha finally started dating.”

    “Oh really? It’s about time! Those two are perfect for each other. And about the space thing, I have a friend in one of the neighboring departments who could give you some good info. Want me to get his number?”

    “Will you? That’d be awesome!”
 

    The cheerful conversation between the two lasted long into the night until Sun passed out on the loveseat. Her dad smiled, a little sadly, at her, then covered her with a blanket and set her phone alarm so she wouldn’t be late for school.

    The next day, Sun went through her normal morning routine and arrived at school. Today was a Friday, so she and several of her friends decided to go to the mall. She texted her dad quickly just in case he came home before her.

Hey! I’m at the mall w/ friends. Idk when I’ll be home. <3 ya!

    “Oh my gosh, Sun, look at these boots! Aren’t they gorgeous!” gushed her friend Mira. Sun nodded and walked over to check out the sales.

    The friends ate dinner at the food court and continued to gossip and giggle until the sun had begun to set. Sun eventually bid farewell to her friends and hopped on the bus home.

    “I’m home!” she called, stepping through the door twenty minutes later. No one answered her. She checked her phone, but there was no reply to her earlier text to her dad. She frowned uneasily; this was unusual. Usually her dad would answer as quickly as possible. It had never taken him four hours to answer any of her texts. All of a sudden the quietness of the sound seemed much more magnified. She shivered and hurriedly a few lamps.

    The light relaxed her a little, and she figured her dad must have been at an important meeting and neglected to check his phone. About thirty minutes and a bowl of ramen later, a knock on the door interrupted Sun’s favorite TV show. She grew uneasy again and glanced at the time: 10:15 pm. No one should be knocking on her door at this time of night. Still, it would be rude of her to ignore whomever the person was. She cautiously opened the front door a crack and peeked out.

Several men in black suits stood stoically on her sidewalk. The said nothing, but stared at her with unblinking eyes. Sun gulped and asked timidly, “Um, can I help you?”

Finally, the man in front moved. “Cho Sun?” he asked. She nodded once, and the other men snapped into action. The man in front shoved open her door, knocking her backwards.

“What? Hey! What are you doing?” she cried.

The men ignored her and stepped smartly inside. Two of them grabbed her arms and hauled her up. Their grips were firm and Sun realized they had no intention of letting her go. She struggled as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.

“Do not struggle. You are to come with us. Without you, Dr. Cho will not cooperate,” the leader said.

“Dad? What have you done with him? Where is he?” Sun was growing more hysterical.

The man ignored her questions and gestured to his men. They began to drag Sun away. She shrieked and starting struggling harder. She kicked at the men, but they were professionals and held her in a way that made it difficult for her to target them.

Sun noticed she was getting nowhere with them and, just as they dragged her through the doorframe, she screamed. “Help!!”