“Come on Tae,” his girlfriend whined, hugging onto his arm. “What’s so interesting about that book anyway?”

  “It’s just a nice book,” he answered with a sigh.

  “Why can’t we go and talk to people or something?”

  Deep set brown eyes looked up at him pleadingly and Taehyung felt bad. His girlfriend was the kind that thrived in a crowd. Being quiet and unseen didn’t suit her, and left her feeling fiddly. Taehyung himself wasn’t sure he could handle talking to anymore people. These few days had left him feeling drained and he’d prefer it if he was left in peace for the time being, but he felt bad every time he looked at her face.

  He hated to admit it, but ever since Yira pointed it out, he’d begun feeling more irritable around her, small things about her bothered him, but he felt bad for feeling that way.

  “So, you know…” she began. “Remember what that fortune teller said?”

  His eyes darted from the page to her, his interest suddenly rising. “Yeah?” he answered cautiously.

  “Okay, so you know how she told me that I might receive an increase of wealth from family? Well, my great grandma just died.”

  “Oh my God,” he said. “Are you okay?”

  “I never really knew her since she had pretty severe dementia. She lived in a home, but she lived to be one hundred seven, which is amazing. But, she left a small amount of money to me and all my cousins. My brother and I each got one thousand dollars!”

  Taehyung was at a loss for words, stuck between feeling happy for his girlfriend and feeling unsure and annoyed at the fact that another one of Yira’s predictions came true.

“But um…it’s more like six hundred dollars now…I kind of went shopping and I didn’t realize how much I spent. She was right, it disappears pretty fast…” she said, looking a little ashamed. “So I’m listening to my dad and sticking the rest in the bank! Everything she said came true! Isn’t that amazing?”

  He nodded numbly. “That is… amazing.”

  “Also, I went in for a check-up at the doctors on Monday, and it turns out that my wrist is a little sprained. I could’ve gotten a permanent injury from that if I wasn’t careful! Isn’t that awesome? She was right about that too! I’m definitely going back there again and…”

  His attention strayed from his girlfriend to two girls walking across the pathway. Her long, black hair tumbled down her shoulders and swayed at her hips, her many beaded accessories jingling with her movement. In the sunlight, Yira’s skin glowed almost copper as she chatted casually with the girl next to her, a shorter girl with mid length hair tied in a braid behind her neck.

  He wasn’t aware that she had friends; she had always struck him as solitary, and seeing her with someone else felt almost strange, and for a reason he couldn’t pinpoint, a little edgy.

  The two were stopped by a teacher at the end of the path, a thick, stocky man with a square face and rectangular glasses who Taehyung recognised as his math teacher Mr. Kim.

  After a five second chat, the second girl was sent away, leaving the man alone with Yira. They talked quietly in the shade before they turned around, Mr. Kim leading Yira away from the school.

  Taehyung’s concern and suspicion rose, and he leapt to his feet, only to feel a tug on his shirt pulling him back.

  “Where are you going?” his girlfriend asked.

  “I um…something came up, I just remembered I have somewhere I need to go,” he lied, grabbing his bag.

  “What about school?” she asked.

  “I have a free period anyway,” he answered, jogging to where he saw Yira and the teacher leave. “I’ll call you later!”

  He jogged to where he saw their figures duck out of view and he ran onto the school car park where he saw Yira slipping into Mr. Kim’s car. As soon as the car engine rumbled to life, his concern grew three fold and he immediately his heel, rushing outside the school to where his own car was parked.

  As soon as he was on the road, he tracked down his teacher’s silver painted car and followed it down the road, through turns and bends to a place Taehyung couldn’t tell. They drew further and further away from the school, passing residential areas.

  “Where are they going?” he muttered to himself as he struggled to keep them in view.

  They entered into a busy street lined with café’s, ice cream parlours, and small restaurants - a fairly busy place bustling with adults with few children or teenagers in sight.

  The grey car parked by the side of the road and Yira emerged from the vehicle, helped out by the teacher like an heiress.

  Parking his own car across the street, he hurried across the road, slowed by the unmoving traffic lights and fast walking crowds. Approaching what looked to be a small cafe, he saw Yira sitting alone at a circular table just outside the entrance, separated from the side walk by a short, wooden fence.

  She turned to him and her eyes looked directly into his, singling him out from the crowd. Taehyung sighed and walked over to her.

  “How did you know I was here?” he asked.

  “You could be more discreet,” she replied. She tilted her head and showed him a mischievous smile. “Why are you here?”

  “You get into the car of a male teacher and drive off somewhere,” he replied. “I don’t know exactly what’s happening but anyone would be concerned.”

  “Oh, should I be flattered?” she asked.

  “Be whatever you want, why are you here-”

  “Kim Taehyung?”

  He looked up from the table to see Mr. Kim standing above them, a look of confusion tinged with fear on his face.

  “Join us,” Yira said to Taehyung.

  “What? Yira, I’m not sure-” the man began.

  “Don’t worry sir,” she assured. “Taehyung can keep a secret, can’t you?” she asked him.

  He nodded cautiously before taking a seat, his eyes never leaving the teacher the entire time.

  “Besides,” Yira continued. “He can be of some use.”

  The teacher joined them, and Taehyung observed that the man’s shoulders were low but tense, his face showing signs of sloppy self-care, his hair was dishevelled and his stubble unshaven, his eyes wore a look of stress.

  Yira took up her usual pose, her fingers laced together and her elbows on the table, her key eyes unmoving on her customer. “What appears to be troubling you, sir?”

  The man sighed and brought his hands to his knees, shaking his head slowly and looking to the ground. “Ah…I…I don’t know where to even begin with this. You’re the only person I could think of to help me. I’ve exhausted every other option I have.”

  “What’s this problem, sir?” Taehyung asked.

  The man scratched the back of his head. “Ah, well…I need Yira to help find someone for me. I think you might know her… Park Bom.”

  Taehyung’s ears pricked up at the name as he had heard that name many times over the past month. Gossip shared from person to person, about the eleventh grade girl who dropped out of school and ran away.

  “Yes…I uh, actually knew Bom quite well. Her parents are long-time friends of mine, I met her father during my university days, and I tutored her since she was little. Every week for many years I was at their house teaching her math.”

  An apron clad woman approached their table with a pencil and notebook in hand. “Excuse me; may I take your order?”

  “Oh, yes of course,” said the man. “I’ll just have a cappuccino. What would the two of you like to have?”

  “I’ll have lemonade please,” said Yira. “And slice of your cheesecake.”

  “I guess I’ll just get lemonade too,” said Taehyung, not particularly interested in eating.

  The waitress scribbled down their order before smiling at them and walking away, leaving them to their unusual conversation.

  Mr. Kim cleared his throat. “Now where were we? Oh yes, I’m sure you’ve all heard the rumours. She did run away, but I want to make clear of a few things that happened before her disappearance. A few weeks before she ran away, Bom was quiet. She always looked like she was worried about something and she made less of an effort in her studies. She seemed tired and fatigued, but at the time we all thought that maybe it was just exam stress. But these signs were minor, they didn’t raise any concerns. That’s why we were so shocked when she ran away. She left a note on the table and that was it.”

  “Excuse me sir, I don’t mean to cut in but did she have any reason for leaving?” Taehyung asked.

  “I don’t believe so. She was always a good child, never causing trouble. She had good relationships with her friends. She wasn’t the best student but she was far from poor, she would have made it to a good university with no trouble. Her parents were a little strict but not so much different from any other families out there.”

  “Sir,” Yira interrupted in a slow, smooth voice that made the hair on the back of Taehyung’s neck rise. “There’s something specific, that you wish to tell me, isn’t there?”

  The man sighed. “Yes. Shortly after she disappeared, I called her. She refused to pick up on anyone’s calls but for whatever reason, she answered mine. She told me goodbye, and to stop calling.” His head shook slowly from side to side as he spoke. “I haven’t told anyone this because…she told- threatened that if I told anyone, especially her parents…she’d tell everyone that we…”

  A look bordering on disgust showed on Taehyung's face as he guessed the answer. “That you two were in a relationship.”

  “That was what she threatened,” said the man, placing emphasis on the last word. “I want to make very clear that I have no such relationship with her. I watched her grow up and I have a daughter only a year older. I see her like my daughter, and that is why I want to find her and bring her home... But my hands are tied and I have no leads to go on.”

  “Why don’t you just leave it to the police?” asked Taehyung.

  “No, they won’t do anything to help. Bom is eighteen; she had to repeat a year in school because she was sick as a child. The police say they can’t do anything about an adult who voluntarily chose to leave.” He turned to Yira. “That’s why I need your help, you’re the last person I can think of who may be of assistance.”

  He bent down under the table, searching through his bag until he rose again with an exercise book, thick with papers and covered in doodles, bearing the name “Park Bom” on the top corner. He slid the book to Yira and said, “I want you to tell me where she is. I’m not quite sure what you need, so I brought you one of her possessions. It was her study book that I was marking before she disappeared.”

  Slowly, Yira placed her hands on the covers, one hand over the other, gently as if she were resting. The air fell quiet and even the traffic seemed to have disappeared as she closed her eyes. The only sound that could be heard was the slow rise and fall of her breathing.

  The teacher watched intently at her actions but Taehyung was guarded. After watching her for a while, he understood that many of her actions were mere theatrics meant to satisfy the customer that something was happening. But the way the afternoon sun hit her hair, making it glitter as her locks framed her peaceful face, he felt as if he couldn’t look away.

  Her eyes opened and she spread her hands apart, pulling them off the book. She stared into Mr. Kim’s eyes with a cold, but professional look and opened .

  “The girl Park Bom,” she began. “Where she is, she is not unsafe. It is not far, but it is not seen. The symptoms of poor health mark her body yet she is healthy and glowing. Difficulty lies ahead of her and she will tackle it on her own.”

  “Do you know where she is?” the man asked hopefully.

  “Do not search for her.” she replied bluntly and coldly. “She is one who does not wish to be found. To bring her in now would be to earn her hate, and she may be subject to more harm at home than away. You need not worry for her safety or condition. The future in front of her is neither ideal nor easy, but it will be content in time, and it is one she chose on her own.”

  “T-that’s it?” he asked. “You can’t tell me where she is?”

  “It serves no good to do so,” she answered. “I apologise sir, since I know that isn’t what you want to hear, but I can tell you that she is okay. She is not the daughter that you have in university, she is someone else and her path is hers alone to choose.”

  “But…she is nearby right?” he asked.

  “Close,” she replied. “But unseen.”

  The teacher heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head, resting his face in his hands.

  “That’s bull.”

  All heads on the table turned to Taehyung, who glared at Yira. “The girl ran away from home with no money and barely any possessions. She’s throwing away a good life, and you’re saying she should just be left alone? She’s a teenager.” He turned to the man with a look of determination. “Sir, I’ll help you find her, I’m no detective but I can dig up information pretty well.”

  “Will you? That’d be great if you at least try,” he replied.

  Taehyung picked up the book. “Do you mind if I hold onto this for a while?”

  “Go on ahead.”

  The waitress returned and placed their orders in front of them, including a rather large slice of cheesecake decorated generously with powdered sugar and fruits in front of Yira. But before Taehyung could take his drink, it was pulled out of his reach and replaced with an identical cup.

  “Hey, what was that for?” he asked, looking at Yira.

  “I like the colour of this straw better,” she said with a smile before she pulled out of her chair.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To thank the owner,” she said, pointing to the grinning man waving at her behind the counter, the apparent reason for her substantial slice of cake which made Taehyung frown.

  Taking the cup with her she arrived at the counter, mouthed words of thanks with a bright smile, before passing and walking straight into the kitchen, where she found the room empty aside from a single, female worker, wiping cups at the sink with her back turned to Yira.

  “What brings you here?” asked a cheery voice.

  “My thanks to the chef,” Yira replied, bringing the cup over a potted plant by the door and tipping its contents into the dirt. With an acid-like hiss, the plant shrivelled and curled, its leaves turning grey as if it had been burnt.“Poison?”

  The girl giggled, her shoulders rising up and down, before she spun around and seated herself on the edge of the counter, the youthful face of Jun Jirin grinning at her. “Do you like it?”

  “Minor,” she replied. “Considering that it’s you.”

  “Well, I have to start small,” she smiled. “It wouldn’t be fun if I threw away nine tries. I’m planning on working my way up.” She held up eight fingers. “Now I have eight.”

  Yira looked distractedly around the room as Jirin swung her legs like a child. “That uniform doesn’t suit you,” she commented.

  Jirin tugged on the striped apron. “I know,” she agreed with a smile. “I don’t know how the employees can stand it.”

  “Where are the other workers?” Yira asked.

  “Out back,” she answered. “Knocked out for a while, they’ll wake up and forget about this whole thing in a few minutes.”

  “Well for the time being,” Yira prompted, placing the cup down on the counter. “Make another lemonade. I’m down a cup.”