Daehyun’s POV

“Sophie? Sophie?” I ask as soon as we’re outside.

“We put her in the back of the car,” Youngjae says.

“Right,” I say. “I forgot.”

Youngjae and I our way to the car while carrying Sophie’s things, but as soon as I open the door, I don’t see her. “Or maybe not,” Youngjae says looking around.

“Jun,” I say getting his attention. “Where’s Sophie?”

“She never came out,” he says shaking his head.

“What are you talking about? We specifically put her in the back of this van,” I tell him. “What do you mean that she’s never came?”

“She never came in the back of my vehicle,” Jun says shaking his head. “I don’t know where she is.”

“You don’t know?” I ask, the reality of the situation starting to set in. “Drive, let’s just drive.”

“Drive where?” Youngjae asks getting in the back of the car with me.

“Just…anywhere, home, around, Sophie’s gone again,” I say as I begin to freak out. “We have to find her.”

“But do you know who would want to take her?” Youngjae asks.

“Of course not, how would I know? What if some erted people took her, then what?”

“But what if they weren’t erted people?” Youngjae asks. “What if they were just regular people? What if they were the people that took L.Joe?”

“Then we have to find out who they are quickly.”

“The package, that phone call,” Youngjae says. “The package we didn’t open yet, but the phone call, didn’t someone say that they were going to take you?”

“Unless that message wasn’t meant for me,” I begin as I start thinking about it. “It could’ve simply been a recorded message that was just played and Sophie was supposed to answer it.”

“I think it’s possible,” Youngjae says.

“Let’s just drive,” I tell Jun. “Back to the house.”

The ride is silent between all three of us. I’m attempting to figure out what exactly is going on between L.Joe and Sophie. What would compel people to want to get them? Why do people want their blood? What is the reason for everything?

Could it be between their parents? Could the link somehow be between their parents and the reason for these letters and this package that we have yet to open? Just how in the world are L.Joe and Sophie taken one right after the other without anyone else noticing or seeing?

Immediately as we get home, I go search for Hyosung who is probably in her room, unless she’s not home at all. Furiously, I knock on the door with Youngjae standing behind me. “Noona, noona!” I yell. “Come out!”

“What do you want, Daehyun?” she asks as she opens the door.

“I need your help,” I tell her.

“You need my help doing what?”

“Help us find the connection between L.Joe and Sophie.”

“Is there a connection?” she asks.

“I think there is,” I tell her. “They were both taken by unknown people and we don’t have a lot of time or information to know what’s going to happen next or who took them.”

“Do we know anything?” Hyosung asks.

“We just have these letters and that package,” Youngjae says pointing at it.

“Well, we should just analyze everything we have and—,” Hyosung begins until she’s cut off by a screeching scream.

“Jung Daehyun!” Mom yells.

“Looks like I have to go handle that first,” I sigh. What could Mom want now?

Sophie’s POV

“Good afternoon,” a voice says waking me up.

“Hmm?” I ask opening my eyes to be in a big bedroom and tucked into a big bed. “Where am I?”

“You’re finally home,” the person says giving me a big goofy smile. That smile, it feels like I’ve seen it somewhere before.

“Lay?” I ask.

“Hi, so you do recognize me,” he says smiling again.

“What?” I ask. There are so many thoughts that are running through my brain at this moment that I don’t even know where to begin until it hits me. I was taken. Daehyun and Youngjae must be looking for me. “Where am I?”

“You’re home, I already said that,” Lay says.

“Home? What do you mean home?” I ask. “What about my friends, where are they?”

“They’re probably in Korea.”

“You mean we aren’t in Korea anymore? What about L.Joe?”

“He’s here…somewhere,” Lay says shrugging his shoulders. “You’re probably hungry, right?”

“What?”

“Food, I’ll be back, wait here.”

With that, Lay leaves the room and leave me sitting there not knowing what’s going on. Why is Lay here? Where is L.Joe? If I had the courage, I would go over and attempt to open the door, but I don’t want to know what the consequences are if I try that and someone is waiting outside of the door to kill me. I’d rather wait inside of the room to be safe rather than get killed.

It feels like forever, but Lay finally comes back into the room and presents a tray of food for me. It looks like fried rice. “Lay,” I hesitantly say as I look at him. “Aren’t you going to eat, too?” I ask.

“I already ate, you eat, though,” he says.

“Um, can I ask you another question?”

“What?” he asks.

“If we’re not in Korea, where are we?”

“You’re home, it’s alright,” he says with a smile.

“Are you the one that took me?” I ask him.

“No,” he says shaking his head. “I would never do something like that.”

“Then who brought me here? And why are you here?”

“Eat,” Lay says pointing towards the food. “Eat and I’ll tell you a story.”

“What’s with you and stories?” I ask, but it seems like he doesn’t even pay attention to the things that I say. In the end, I have no other choice but to start eating.

“So, do you remember that story that I told you before?”

“Hmm? The story about the fire?” I ask.

“Yeah,” Lay says nodding his head. “That story.”

“I remember some of it, why?”

“I was just wondering,” he says with a smile.

“But you asked because you wanted to know something,” I say pointing my finger at him.

“Anyway, there’s another story involving the same family.” Without waiting for a response, he just continues with the story. “They spent years looking for their child, but nothing ever came up. They always wondered if they would be able to find their children, but no one ever did anything to help them, until some people came along and decided to help.” Once again, I have no idea what the purpose of this story is. “Through that process, the people thought that they were going to get their child back, but it turns out that they didn’t, that it was completely useless.”

“Then what’s the point of the story?” I ask him.

“You’ll see soon enough,” he says as he gets up again and walks towards the door leaving me sitting there. “Wash up in five minutes,” Lay announces before he opens the door. “There’s a bathroom and clothes and everything. We’re going to go out.”

Daehyun’s POV

“What do you want?” I ask Mom as I enter her office for who knows how many times this week.

“I thought you would going to keep under control, what are these articles doing?” she asks placing a bunch of magazines at my feet.

“I never said I was going to keep under control,” I tell her. “I was just going to deal with it as it came, but you already extended the wedding so it doesn’t even matter right now, but I am going to get out of it.”

“Where is Sophie? We have to discuss options with her.”

“What options?” I ask. “And I don’t even know where she is.”

“See, this is bad enough on her already. She doesn’t want to be involved in such a thing.”

“No,” I say immediately correcting her. “She was taken and you’re keeping me from finding her.”

“You don’t want to find her,” Mom says shaking her head.

“And why wouldn’t I? What’s so important about Sophie Karp and her parents that everyone knows but me?” I ask finally somewhat exploding. “Even at the funeral and even Hyosung’s boyfriend, it seems like everyone knows things about her that I don’t know. Why don’t I know them?”

“Because you’re never home, and you were young back then,” she states.

“But he was young back then, too,” I complain. “How can people know about these things but I can’t?”

“They studied and they learned unlike you who left when you were six.”

“I left because I couldn’t stand being around here anymore,” I tell her. “I can’t even stand being here right now. If it weren’t for you, I would be living in America and living life how I was before and never coming back here like Aunt.”

“I thought I said not to mention her,” Mom warns.

“I don’t care anymore, she made a life for herself because she couldn’t deal being here and then I’m going to turn out the same way if you keep pressuring me to do things that I don’t want to,” I tell her. “Stop pressuring me to do things, the only want answers, but everyone ends up giving me more questions and I’m getting freaked out and stressed out because there’s nothing that’s happening right anymore.”

“If you’re so curious, then you can look it up yourself,” Mom calmly says. “Now, I have other work to attend to and I have to straighten out this mess of yours. When you find that girl, bring her back and we have to discuss future options.”

Without saying a word, I leave the office and start heading to the place of knowledge, my father. If Mom won’t say anything to me about who Sophie is or who her parents are, then I’m going to have to go to Dad who will tell me everything. I always go to him for help with Mom and he always ends up giving it. I’m grateful that there’s at least one person like that here and at least I have a parent that’s like that.

“Do you need something, Daehyun?” Dad asks looking up from his book that he’s reading.

“Why does Mom want to take command over my life?” I ask as I sit down next to him on the couch. “I mean, I get it that I’m a prince and I get that the whole country waits for our every move, but why? Why does she want to take command over my life?”

“She only wants what’s best for you,” Dad says putting down his book and looking at me.

“I understand, but this wedding, I don’t want to go through with it, but that’s not the reason why I’m here,” I say attempting to get my mind back on track.

“Then why are you here?” Dad curiously asks.

“I want to find out information,” I tell him.

“Information on what? I’m pretty sure I’d be able to help you,” he says with a smile.

“I think you could,” I say slightly laughing.

“What do you want to know about? We are in the library,” he says looking around. “There are probably things everywhere on the subject that you’re talking about.”

“It may be a little difficult,” I admit as I scratch the back of my head.

“Well, then I can help you get information, I’m the king after all,” he says with a smirk.

“I want information on Sophie Karp and her parents,” I announce to him. “I want to know why her parent’s funeral was over here, I want to know why everyone is so interested in her and why everyone knows her. I’m tired of being in the dark.” As I just tell him what I want information on, he only stares at me for a second before nodding his head. Am I finally going to get answers?

Sophie’s POV

“Where are we?” I ask as soon as we come outside. It doesn’t even seem like we’re in Korea before, well, even Lay told me before, but as soon as we continue walking, I spy a familiar figure. “L.Joe!” I yell and he turns around.

“Sophie,” he says as relief washes over his face and he comes up and hugs me. “I didn’t know if I would ever see you again.”

“Where are we?” I ask him. “Lay here tried to tell me another story.”

“He tried telling me another one, too,” he says lightly laughing. “But we’re apparently in China.”

“What do you mean we’re in China?” I ask.

“Look around, everything is written in Chinese.”

“Are you sure that we’re just not in like Chinatown or something?” I ask to make sure.

“Positive,” he says nodding his head. “We’re in China, as in actual China.”

“But why wouldn’t either of us notice? Like the plane ride or anything?” I ask attempting to figure everything out. “And who even captured us in the first place, are we being kidnapped?”

“Sophie, Sophie, Sophie,” L.Joe says repeating my name. “You’re freaking out too much. They haven’t done anything to me and they probably aren’t going to do anything to you, I’ve been here longer than you,” he says. “And the plane ride, we were knocked out for the whole time.”

“But why?” I ask. “Why are we the ones who got caught?”

“I’m still trying to figure that out, but whoever brought us gives us some leeway.”

“What do you mean? Leeway?” I ask.

“I’m allowed to leave the house between the hours of seven and then I have to return by nine at night. Between those hours, I’m supposed to stay at home, but I can roam around the house,” L.Joe says as he describes his everyday schedule. “They give me money to eat out with and they provide me with clothes. It’s actually not that bad of a lifestyle.”

“Then why take us in the first place? I ask. There are so many questions in my mind. “Lay,” I say turning around but he’s no longer there. “Where is he?”

“He frequently does that,” L.Joe says.

“What do you mean he frequently does that?” I ask.

“He came out with me before and then he just disappeared, but I guess he’s probably gone somewhere,” L.Joe says shrugging his shoulders. “Let’s not bother about him. It’s one in the afternoon; we have eight hours until we absolutely have to be home.”

“And what happens if we’re not?” I wonder.

“I haven’t been here that long, Sophie,” L.Joe says as he pats the top of my head. “And I don’t think I want to know what happens if we don’t go home on time. Why don’t we talk in this coffee place that I found?”

“Sure,” I say.

L.Joe takes me into a coffee place that he found when he was taken here and he orders for me since I don’t know how to speak Chinese. He doesn’t either, but he has the ability to point at pictures. Although, I could point at pictures, too, but he doesn’t let me.

“So, you call it home now, huh,” I tell L.Joe as we sit across from each other.

“I mean, what else am I supposed to call it?” he asks with a light laugh.

“I don’t know,” I say shrugging my shoulders. “But why do you think that we’re taken here? Why China of all places?”

“I don’t know,” L.Joe says. “How did you get captured?”

“I was taken in a car when we went back to your house,” I tell him. “Youngjae, Daehyun, and I were going back to your house after Daehyun rescued me the night that you were taken. How were you taken?” I ask him as the waiter gives us our drinks.

“That night, someone just grabbed me and then I don’t remember anything else,” he admits. “The next thing I remember is waking up here with Lay in front of me and being told the rules.”

“I wasn’t told the rules,” I say thinking. “Lay didn’t tell me any rules. Do you think that somehow we have separate rules?”

“I don’t know,” L.Joe honestly says. “I don’t think that I even want you to figure out, okay? We’re in a different country where we don’t know anything that’s going on. It’s best to just listen to the rules right now, alright?” he asks. I nod my head in agreement. “Good.”

Daehyun’s POV

“You want to know more about Sophie Karp?” Dad asks.

“Yeah, is that a problem?” I ask him. “I mean, you know that she’s my best friend and she has been for six years, so why would anyone else know stuff that I don’t know?”

“She doesn’t know either,” Dad says causing me to look at him.

“What do you mean she doesn’t even know?” I ask. “It’s her life, how doesn’t she even know?”

“She doesn’t,” Dad says in a voice that I’ve never really heard him use before. Just what are the feelings when it comes to bringing up Sophie and her parent’s name?

“Why doesn’t she?” I ask him. “This is the matter between life and death right now. Sophie is gone, someone took her and I’m trying to figure out why and no one will answer my questions.”

“There’s something else that can answer your questions better,” Dad says as he gets up from the couch.

“And what’s that?” I ask as I watch his every move.

“It’s a book,” he says as he takes one out from one of the higher shelves that barely anyone visits. He is really the only person to come and visit them.

“What will a book do for me?” I ask as he hands it to me. It’s pretty thick. “You want me to learn about my best friend through a book?”

“It will probably have some things that are related to her in it,” Dad says. “Read it, you will find everything that you want to know in there.”

“Really, everything?” I ask as I stare at it. “Like I’ll even know where she went with this book?”

“Who knows,” he says shrugging his shoulders. “But your mother and I have to go to a dinner meeting tonight and we don’t know when we’ll be back. You, Youngjae, and Hyosung should be on your best behavior.”

“Aren’t we always?” I ask him.

“Okay, well, keep the book for your own records,” he says pointing at it in my hands. “I should get going now.”

I watch him leave and soon afterwards leave the room myself when I’m run over. “Daehyun, I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Youngjae quickly says.

“Why?’ I ask.

“We opened the package.”

“You opened the package?” I ask. “Why would you do that?”

“Because we were curious and we thought we would be able to figure it out, noona and me,” Youngjae confesses.

“Well, what did you find?” I ask.

“It was filled with a birth certificate and other papers regarding ones birth,” Youngjae says.

“Just a birth certificate?” I ask. “Isn’t that the only thing that you get when you’re born?”

“Well it had other papers, too,” Youngjae says, “but that’s beside the point. Where did you say Sophie was from again? And do you know if she has any siblings?”

“She was adopted from Korea, why?” I ask wondering why Youngjae would be asking such a question. “And no, she doesn’t have any siblings that I know of, but why are you asking?”

“From that envelope in L.Joe’s mailbox, it turns out that Sophie really isn’t from Korea, she’s from China and she has siblings. She has a brother, an older brother.”

“What am I supposed to gain from all of this?” I ask confusingly.

“Sophie’s parents are alive,” Youngjae finally says. “Her parents are alive.”

“But they’re dead, we had a funeral,” I say attempting to make sense of everything.

“Not her adoptive parents, her birth parents. Sophie’s biological parents are alive.”

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Who is Sophie Karp? Who are her biological parents? Why are L.Joe and Sophie in China? Who really is Lay?

Here is Chapter 19. Hope you enjoyed :D