Byulyi fidgeted in her seat, averting her gaze each time she could feel the other's eyes on her, leaving a trail of heat on her skin. One second her fingers traced a certain name repeatedly as a consolation, the next second her nails dug into the cold metal surface and then into her palm. Her erratic pattern, characterised by her emotions, followed the intensity of the only man in the windowless room aside from her.

"Moon Byulyi."

Her senses heightened once she heard his voice fading into silence. Silence after an outburst meant nothing good. If she were to look at him now, he would be wearing the same stony expression like others who had shown her unkindness before. Don't look; it will hurt less. She shut her eyes tightly, thinking of her happy memories with Seungwan and Yongsun as she braced herself for the impact. It didn't last long enough; their sweet smiles faltered at her appearance.

As though she was a stranger.

Byulyi choked. She almost forgot that those smiles were for Min, not her. Her eyes flew open at a slight skin contact and she saw a woman holding her hands. She swallowed, watching the woman warily as she retracted her hands from the other's hands.

"Are you alright?"

She didn't answer as her gaze turned to the white and blue badge dangling around the other's neck, like how the man from earlier wore his badge.

"I'm sorry on behalf of my colleague for yelling at you." The file in the other's hands caught her attention - on the front was a rare photograph of herself as a young child, full of exuberance, in the warm embrace of a young couple whom she couldn't recognise. Her gaze turned to the document beneath the photograph and all she could make out was 'missing person.'

"I'm sorry for not finding you sooner."

Byulyi didn't budge when the detective reached out to her - a squeeze on her cold hands, a pat on her bent back, and finally a hug she desperately needed ever since her arrest.

She found the courage to cry in the presence of another person for the first time.

---

Byulyi watched clouds drifting across the blue sky as her fingers idly traced along the distinct features of the photograph she obtained from the female detective. She often thought, once everything became clear, she'd find her direction. She never guessed that she'd wander aimlessly now that she had answers to her eleven year-old questions.

She never felt so lost.

She held the photograph of her family close to her chest, afraid of losing it as they existed only in the photograph. She couldn't be the smiling child in her parents' loving embrace again even if she couldn't remember a single moment with her parents. They left too soon and she fell into hell too soon.

It was almost spring.

Byulyi sniffed, remembering how red her nose turned when she forgot to wear her knitted scarf, frantically keeping up with the sun, changing with seasons. It was too late to turn back; the sun was about to set. She tucked the photograph inside an old varsity jacket, the second gift from the detective, before she leaned against the pine tree where she always watched the sunset.

As a part of her daily routine, she squinted to peek through her open hand to create an illusion of the sun falling onto her hands - a new habit she'd developed under the persona of Son Soomin when her friend stopped talking to her. Byulyi bated her breath when she watched the sun intently; it was a matter of seconds before the sun touched the palm of her hand.

Her eyes widened at the sun moving in the opposite direction instead, beaming at her with her unchanging, bright smile.

“I found you!”

It wasn't an illusion.

Byulyi cracked a smile. "You win," she finally declared the win which she’d owed her first friend for a long time.

---

Byulyi wiped with the back of her hand, excited at the prospect of following her idol's footsteps and deserving to wear her worn-out varsity jacket with pride. She hardly suppressed her happy grin when she was awarded the silver badge, the symbol of police force. When the ceremony for her turn was complete, only then did she dare to look for her guardian and Yongsun in the audience.

Next to her girlfriend was a blonde haired girl who watched her in tears but she couldn't be mistaken about her identity. Their first meeting as siblings had left a deep impression on her - in fact, she still looked the same despite she'd grown a lot.

A crybaby.

"Congratulations, unnie." Seungwan tried not to sniff as she congratulated her before she pulled her into a tight hug, burying her face into the crook of Byulyi's neck. “Please do well.”

Byulyi couldn’t hold her tears any longer as she returned her hug, reluctant to let her go when she caught Yongsun's gesture towards the glass pane and she turned to see a sparkle amongst the field of stars in the black sky.

She wasn't lost anymore.

Author's note: This chapter may come as a surprise as I'd marked this story complete since the last chapter. I decided to post this chapter for a proper closure because it'd bugged me how I left this story dangling without a proper explanation for Byulyi's backstory (and kudos to a friend who bugged me for questions about Byulyi! Thanks, mate!) With this said, I hope the final chapter can clear up most of your questions when you pick up this story!