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“Thank goodness you’re here,” Auntie Shin breathed after unlocking the door for them. Clutching onto Hayoung’s hand wet from the rain, “The Madam is having a really hard time.”

Sehun glanced in over Hayoung’s shoulder to find the house utterly quiet, which was nothing new. He followed them in observing the stillness before they arrived in a meeting room where both Choonhee’s parents were gathered. Seated at one of the chairs was Lee Eungi, Choonhee’s mother, looking drained, frail, and upset. Her shoulders were slumped and beside her sat her husband.

“What is he doing here?” the man immediately questioned, his voice heavy and unkind.

“I thought it would be better if Sehun and Kai were both present.” Hayoung said.

Sehun turned to glance at her. Kai? He hadn’t been aware that man was also going to join them tonight.

“Why? What are you thinking?! Are you planning to bring this family down?!” he immediately shouted from the top of his lungs, his voice booming. “I thought you understood that this was a internal matter not to be leaked!”

“But President,” Hayoung tenderly explained, “both Kai and Sehun are close to Choonhee. They can stand as viable persons in the case of Choonhee. If they are aware beforehand it’ll be easier to leverage into their families, so the news won’t be as shocking. Plus, they may be of help. Why don’t you consider it? If this person has done your family harm, we’ll need to gather all the money and power possible, isn’t that right?”

The man seemed to think her words over before dropping back down into his seat. Hayoung glanced at him before sitting at the table beside Eungi and comfortably rubbed her back, as if she were her own daughter. Sehun turned from the sight and sat down, wondering what in the world was going on.

Where was Namjoo?

His eyes scanned the room void of that girl and immediately worried about what she was up to. Maybe she was with Kai he supposed, he hoped.

“Kai is here,” Auntie Shin said from the doorway and a second later the other man walked into the room, giving his greetings to Choonhee’s father, and like him, looked curiously at Lee Eungi, wondering what was going on.

Sitting on the other side they peered at each other. Sehun became weary when Kai looked around for Namjoo and like him, became curious about whether she was joining them. The second the door closed they turned their attention away from each other.

“Choonhee is missing,” Lee Kwan started, suddenly looking as if he’d aged 10 years his time. His tired eyes and worn expression were that of someone who’d lived long enough. The youth in his hair was a contrast to the steep stress wearing him out.

Sehun’s attention became stricter on the man, his heart starting to thud louder.

“Today we’ve come to realize there has been an imposter in this house.” His voice shook from the anger of it. “And we didn’t know. How long has she been here? The thought of it…and where my daughter is… Before this gets out, I need to find my daughter and make her imposter pay.”

“Where has she gone?” Hayoung asked.

“I don’t know,” the man shook his head. “But I need to find Choonhee. She’s supposed to be getting married. This can’t be happening. The business…our families…” the man shook his head devastated.

“No,” Hayoung calmly interjected. “President, we need to find that girl first.”

“What are you saying?! We don’t know where my daughter is!” the man knocked his fist against the table. “She could be in danger!”

“That’s exactly why we need to find the imposter,” Hayoung emphasized with her steely voice. “We need a search for her. Once professionals catch her, the truth will come out with what she did to Choonhee.”

“Did you not hear me tell you that this is not to be leaked to the public?!”

“Then, sir is it better to let your daughter’s life hang on the line?” Hayoung argued. “The company will survive, we’ll handle the matters. It’s possible to keep things as private as possible. You have reporters you know and trust. We can use them to keep it quiet. First, we need a search. We need to bring that woman in. So I recommend a press meeting with the best investigators.”

A knot tightened inside Sehun’s chest.

A what?!

“Yes, lets do that. We need to find her to find Choonhee,” Eungi cried. “Honey, we need to listen to Hayoung.”

The ringing of his phone was the utmost relief Sehun needed at the moment. It was the private investigator he’d contacted.

“Excuse me. It looks like I’ll have to leave early. There’s something I need to take care of,” scooting his chair back Sehun rose to his feet and excused himself. The moment he closed the door he started at a run toward his car.

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What the hell was going on?

After the shortest meeting possible in his life and after Auntie Shin closed the front door on them, Kai quickly grabbed Hayoung’s arm and dragged her to the side of the house, away from peeping eyes and snooping ears.

Shoving her against the house he glared. “What are you up to?”

Brushing off the dirt his hands left on her arm she glanced at him, “Why are you angry at me? You should wait until you meet the one who’s been fooling you.”

She about walked away but he shoved her back again, harder. “What is it exactly that you want?”

Hayoung snorted daringly, “I think you’re asking the wrong person. Wait until we find your fake fiancée.”

“Wrong person?” he asked, both amused and impatient. “No. I think I got the right person. You brought her in.”   

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she was quick to shrug him off.

“What was it?” he purposely asked. “The name…right, Namjoo was it?”

He watched her eyes broaden.

“Have you heard about the gesture of being stabbed in the back?” he threateningly questioned. “Should I teach you the irony of it?”

“You knew.” She breathed. “And you didn’t do anything.”

“You find her, but don’t you dare touch a hair on her body,” he warned. “That woman will be my wife. Once you find her, I’ll think about what I’ll do to you.”

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After walking into the private lounge room, Go Jaehwa handed him a manila folder which he opened without haste. His eyes traced the records of the orphanage documents then to the picture of the unhappy young girl. He knew those eyes that held sadness, disappointment, and fear of never finding a home.

“Kim Namjoo was transferred from Namsamwon to The Angel House when she was seven. There were numerous instances where she tried running away. She grew up there until she was fifteen and voluntarily left. For about a year or two there was no news of her, but seems like there was a woman, Yoo Hasun, who took a liking to her. She found Namjoo at a homeless center, but Namjoo turned her away. After that there are no records of her being employed anywhere and there’s no address to where she lives. Currently, she could be labeled as missing person. Is there anything else you need me to find out about her?”

“No.” he replied absentmindedly.

Go Jaehwa left the room after a moment. Sehun listened to the door open and close softly, his mind a wonder. He wanted to know how Namjoo had felt those years at the orphanage, why she tried running away so many times, and how depressed she felt knowing parents preferred the younger, cuter children to her. He yearned to discover the pits of her loneliness and slowly fill them up. He wanted to let her knew that she needn’t be alone, sad, or scared anymore.

Turning to look at the view outside the window he saw that gray skies were darkening. The rain was still drizzling cold as ever. If Namjoo had nowhere to go, was she outside in the pouring rain?

That’s right. There was going to be a press conference tomorrow to announce the search for her. If it turned into a manhunt Namjoo would really be in trouble and he might not be able to do anything.

He needed to help her.

His mind working too fast for his body forced his legs up and in no time he was outside in his car, speeding down the street. A minute later he was forced to punch the brakes and restlessly waited behind the wheel for the long line of traffic and blurred red lights to start moving. Five minutes passed and he was near the end of his patience. Backing up he slowly drove down the right lane, discovering a car accident up ahead. If it was like this how much farther would Namjoo be from him? Swerving his car toward the curb he parked and stepped out with an umbrella in hand.

Dashing down the street with eyes darting left and right continuously he jogged along the closed roads with nowhere in mind. He didn’t know where to look for her and it panicked him. In what places under this condition would she be hiding?

The streets were plagued with a cold. Not a single soul was in sight. Everyone seemed to hiding. It heightened his fear of missing her. He couldn’t imagine letting her behind bars without a fight. Only the rain dancing off his umbrella accompanied him the following minutes.

Half an hour later he was chilled to his bones and the sky was darker, the rain falling harder but he couldn’t give up. In the end he ended up shouting for her to no avail. Sehun didn’t know how far he’d gone, but if he recalled correctly The Angel House wasn’t too far away from where he currently was. What if there was a possibility that she was there?

Pivoting on his heels he darted off in the direction of the orphanage. When the bricked building came into view he slowed down, his feet now soaked up to his ankles. Breathing heavily, he felt the deepest form of relief wash over him when he saw the figure ahead. Drenched in rain Namjoo stood in front of the closed shop on the other side of the street, staring at the orphanage she’d long left.   

He slowly trudged toward her quietly and thought she was too caught up in her head to notice him, but realized he was wrong. The moment he shielded her with his umbrella her tired eyes drifted up to look at him and she stepped back.

In fear that she might start running when he hadn’t yet recovered from catching his breath, he grabbed her arm. “Where are you going?”

He let her shrug him off and heard her say, “I told you not to touch me.”

Scanning her he saw that she was heavily soaked and trying not to tremble in front of him. Her bra was visible from underneath the bad choice of blouse she’d chosen for the day and thinking about how scared she must have been to run unprepared for the weather, made his heart go out to her. Pushing the umbrella into her hand he worked off his jacket and wrapped it around her. Whether she was too exhausted to even put up a fight with him, she barely moved and her eyes refrained from meeting his.

Taking her freezing hand into his, he led her down the road. Heading to his house was uncalled for and would most likely put her in more danger. They needed somewhere quiet where she could dry up and where he could talk to her. In the end they ended up in a tiny motel where he ended up asking for a pair of towels while ignoring the sly eyes of the receptionist.

When they got to the room the size of his closet he told her, “Stay in here and don’t open the door. I’m taking the key with me.” handing her the towels he said, “Take your clothes off to dry. You didn’t eat anything all day, right? I’ll go buy some food for you, so don’t move from here.”

And he could only hope that she would listen when he left. Fifteen minutes later after running to and from the convenience store he arrived back at the room with a bag of food, snacks, and warm water. Namjoo had left the lights off and for a second he feared she’d left, but when he turned them on he spotted her slumped against the wall with one of the towels wrapped around her body and another around her shoulders. To the side he saw her clothes lain out to dry and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Namjoo?” he called walking in and glanced down to find her asleep with knees drawn up to her chest like a young child.

A smile slowly sprang up to his face at the sight and setting down the bag in hand he started toward the other end of the room to grab the blanket folded in the corner. Carefully wrapping the blanket around her he switched off the lights. Quietly sitting behind her he cautiously pulled her between his legs to let her lean against him and wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm.

For a while he listened to the melodious rain knocking against the window pane noisily while sufficing into how she felt in his arms. Her even and quiet breaths soothed all the worries in that moment and he drew her closer, snuggling against her.

“Tomorrow there’s going to be a press conference to begin a search for you,” he said, “you’re probably scared about what will happen. Don’t be. If you are, I’m more scared.”

Namjoo remained still, probably well asleep in his arms. He kind of wished she was awake to hear him. If she knew how he felt she might come to him.

“Choonhee must have resented me enough to send you here,” he said. “From the very beginning it was a pure joke. When I first met Choonhee I knew nothing about her, but my father has big ambitions that have been borne onto me. Money, you see, is everything in this world. So when I met Choonhee, it was like a gift from heaven. If I married her she would bring me an eternity of fortune. She has it all, you know. Money, education, you name it. But you know, she was smart too. She caught on quickly. She knew she was being used, she was aware of it.

“And you know, Choonhee, she loved her piano. She would often play it for me, but like me, she gave it up. She did it for the man she loved, you know him. We all know him. And whether she knew she was being used for her money too, I don’t think it mattered to her because she loved him.”

He dug his face nearby her shoulder and closed his eyes, hugging her tighter.

“I’ll go with you tomorrow.” He promised. “If I have to, I’ll do everything I can to keep you out of this mess.”

Sehun wasn’t aware when he drifted off, but when he awoke his arms were empty and Namjoo’s clothes were gone.

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The conference hall that morning was filling up quickly with reporters affiliated with the Lee’s. Cameras were on standby along with tapes ready to roll. Invited investigators the best of the best had come armed with notepads, tape recorders, and laptops all of which they were setting up.

Kai dropped into the front seat alongside his parents who were stricken in disbelief with what was going on, vaguely filled in with information from the Lee’s that morning. Hayoung and Choonhee’s parents were in the same row.

Today, everything would be in her charge. The entire speech she had prepared today to jerk the hearts of the audience, to turn them onto her side was something she had practiced and memorized throughout the night without sleep. So much effort had been put into it and so much effort had brought her this far. She would definitely make sure that it all paid off. Very soon she wouldn’t be any more different from them.

Once the doors closed and cameras started flashing Hayoung stood up and walked to the speech table on the platform upfront.

The atmosphere heightened with curiosity and excitement. Everyone prepared to jump in for questions after hearing her introductory statement.

“Hello everyone,” Hayoung started, standing professionally in front of the mic as she spoke. “I am Oh Hayoung, President Lee’s secretary and now serve as the Vice CEO’s personal secretary. I have gone to school with Lee Choonhee, President and Madam Lee’s only child, who they adopted and love very much and have come to work for them in the years.”

She could hear Eungi sniffing among the audience with a tissue pressed to her face. Today would mark the day in history when she joined the Lee family at the higher table. She had waited so long to stand in the same league, to appear like a promising benefactor. If once and for all they finally acknowledged and recognized her loyalty to their family, there would be no chance that they would exclude them from their will. They had to thank her for all she’d done for them.

“But we have recently discovered a tragedy. An imposter, a stranger, a woman whom no one knows of has been impersonating Choonhee; has lived with and has dined with the President and his wife.”

Kai’s shocked parents turned to look at one another to ascertain that this madness was not true. The cameras flashed intensely as her voice grew deeper with intensity. Hayoung eyed the investigators who were quickly scribbling her speech down.

This was it.

“My friend and their daughter, Lee Choonhee, is currently missing. We need to begin a search, but this search for their missing child cannot be leaked to the public on the basis that criminals and pranksters will take advantage of the situation. The company and the family reputations will stand at stake. We request your service in this private search for the missing Lee Choonhee.”

Before Hayoung could continue, the doors burst open and Namjoo suddenly appeared. “Who’s missing.”