His clocked ticked away on the wall as he searched. Although it was only a study book, it was rich with her personality. She liked flowers, as countless stylized blooms were drawn on every free space in red and blue pen, from the covers to the space between paragraphs. Doodles filled every margin and sentences appeared sporadically among them, revealing snippets of her life as if the book were a chip of her diary.

  “Kim Hanbin is cute.”

  “Can’t wait for school to be over.”

  “Mrs. Jung is being a .”

  “Best friends ♡ Santokki”

  A groan sounded in the air and he rubbed his eyes, unsure if he was tired or if he genuinely couldn’t find anything. He let himself rest for a few seconds before resuming, but his efforts yielded similar results as before.

  There had to something in there; Park Bom used the book like a note taker, there couldn’t be nothing.

  He returned to the pages stubbornly, the image of Yira’s impassive face crossing his mind and spurring him on. It bothered him how cold she could be. Taehyung didn’t believe in standing by while bad things happened. He thought of it as a duty to help and Yira’s opposing philosophy irritated him.

  His eyes widened and his hands slowed as he read the name “Choi Seunghyun” scribbled on the bottom corner of a page. Flipping backwards through the book, he realized that the name appeared often, almost always accompanied by a heart shape.

  He knew him.

  Taehyung knew a Choi Seunghyun. They went to the same elementary school together. He was a typical overachiever, a top mark student however was considered a loser because of his weight. He went to a private high school while Taehyung went to the nearest.

  Taehyung cheered at his discovery; finally he had something to go on. Turning on his laptop, he contacted Choi Seunghyun, already making plans for what he was going to do next.

  A navy blue uniform amidst a sea of green uniforms stood out like a sore thumb; guys stared at him as they left the school, and girls giggled impishly as they saw his face.

  Taehyung ignored them, waiting patiently as the stream of students thinned outside the classically charming building. Seunghyun had agreed to meet him at four, surprised by his sudden contact yet unopposed to meeting.

  The leaves fell and time ticked on his watch, displaying that Seunghyun was five minutes late, but before he could decide to go in, out stepped a boy he almost didn’t recognize from the years apart.

  No longer was there the tall and heavily overweight boy he remembered. Since elementary school, Seunghyun had thinned down his figure - still tall, however now looking sturdy and strong, but still giving off the bookish ambitious air Taehyung was familiar with.

  “Hey,” Seunghyun said with a smile of recognition. “Kim Taehyung! I almost didn’t recognize you there, you’ve changed so much!”

  “I’d say the same to you,” he replied, shaking his hand. Two girls exiting the building exchanged glances and whispers as they passed him.

  “I see you’re still the same pretty boy as before though,” said Seunghyun.

  “And what about you now?” Taehyung replied, gesturing to the group of girls grinning at them by the bus stop. “Not doing too bad yourself. I don’t remember seeing that much in elementary school.”

  “Ah,” he grinned modestly. “That’s not anything. I know them from some school clubs.”

  “Uh huh,” he said, unconvinced.

  “So what did you want to meet for?” Seunghyun asked.

  Taehyung dug into his bag and pulled out the book. “This,” he replied, holding it up.

  Seunghyun’s expression changed into confused recognition. “Wait, is that-?”

  “I have some question I’d like to ask you.”

  “Where did you get that?” he asked with a frown.

  “Don’t look at me like I’m someone who broke into her house and stole it. It was given to me by someone close to her family.” He replied. “They wanted to know some information. The point is; why is your name written all over this?”

  “Nice to see some things don’t change,” he said. “You’re still playing Detective. I thought you’d have eased out of it by now.”

  “I just want to know if you know anything,” he said. “You know she’s missing, right?”

  Seunghyun closed his eyes, looked down to the side, and sighed. “Yeah.”

  “So, do you know anything?” he asked. “Because, judging from this, I’m assuming you’re either her boyfriend or at least massive crush.”

  “Look, Taehyung,” Seunghyun began. “Trust me, if I did know anything, I would have already told it to the police. I don’t like this anymore than the next person. But I don’t know anything. I really don’t.”

  “So you two did date?”

  “Yeah. Not many people knew about it though, her parents are kind of controlling so it was kept quiet, especially on her side. We met at debate but we broke up.”

  “You guys broke up before she ran away?”

  Seunghyun shuffled around uncomfortably. “Not quite. Things just kind of lost interest. I mean, it was a temporary relationship to begin with; I’m in an entertainment company and working really hard to debut, and things just lost momentum you know? We barely talked for a long time before she ran away, so even though it wasn’t official, we did kind of break up.”

  “So you really don’t know anything?” he probed. “Even a little bit of information? Like where she might have went? You know even trivial information might be helpful.”

  “Like I said, I don’t know. Her disappearance shocked me too; I have no clue where she could have gone. She never mentioned doing anything like it. I might have been able to pick up on any changes in her behavior, but I wasn’t there during the time before she left. I’d love to help but I really have nothing.”

  Taehyung sighed in frustration. “Well then, back to the drawing board. Damn. I’ll have to figure out something else.”

  “I wish you luck man,” Seunghyun said, patting him on the shoulder encouragingly. “I really do hope she’s okay, but I can’t help anymore. I’ve got my own things to worry about and she’s a legal responsible adult, she can look after herself. See you around and good luck.”

  “See you,” he grumbled with his palm to his face as Seunghyun walked towards the group of giggling girls.

  He groaned at the thought of another night staring at the book under a desk light.

  The sounds of flicking pages filled the air, accompanied by a low sigh. He lay with his back on the bed and the book held up to block the ceiling light from hitting his eyes. He had reached the final page, but it was unused and blank except for a few doodles and a game of tic-tac-toe.

  Just as he was about to give up and resort to other sources of clues, his eyes caught on the inner spine of the book, were between two pages, was a bent staple with a tiny, triangle of torn paper sticking out.

  He leapt onto his feet and angled the book to the lights, pulling apart the pages as far as they could go, revealing a slight gap lined with tiny, torn paper. A page had been pulled out, although neatly.

  His heart rose as this could be the clue he needed, but for all he knew, Park Bom may have pulled it out to lend to a friend. If only there was a way for him to know what was written on that page.

  The final, blank page glowed white under the ceiling light, and Taehyung squinted at the pale blue lines where he could almost make out the imprints of Park Bom’s handwriting.

  He dropped the book on his desk and took out a pen. With a sharp eye and the intense light of the desk lamp, he began reading and writing down what she wrote. It was a struggle, as the writing was not only faint, but messy as if she had been in a rush, but within half an hour, he had the complete note.

  It was a phone number and address. Not one he was familiar with, but he took up his phone, and dialled the number, listening intently as it ringed.

  “Hello, this is Rico’s Pizza. How may I help you?”

  Whatever he was expecting to hear on the other end, wasn’t this. For a brief second, he thought that maybe the note was trivial and unrelated to her disappearance, but that thought was dispelled as he had remembered hat Park Bom had taken the effort to tear out the page.

  “Yes hello,” he replied. “May I ask where your shop is?”

  It was a cold night and Taehyung stood on a street even sketchier than Yira’s. A narrow little place tucked out of sight of the main road, wedged between a bar and a gritty brick wall pasted with torn advertising posters.

  It was surprisingly close to the school even though he had never heard of the place. It was part of the lower layers of the area, unseen because people didn’t want it to be seen.

  The shop in front of him was painted white, but dirtied to a grey with a drip pattern seeping from the roof. The doors were thick and unevenly painted, with a little frosted window glowing a dim orange light on the side.

  It wasn’t the most inviting of places, but he took a deep breath, and stepped in. He was immediately enveloped in a thick warmth coming from the kitchen. The inside was bigger than what the entrance made it look, enough to fit a few people enjoying pizza on the tables lining the walls.

  A burly man behind a counter looked up at him and greeted him with a nod of his head. “What would you like?”

  “Uh,” he replied, pulling out his phone and showing him a photo of Park Bom, taken off her inactive Facebook account. “I’m looking for a friend. Does she work here?”

  The man stared at the photo with a grim look, repeatedly glancing from the picture to Taehyung.

  “Who wants to know?” he asked in a threatening tone, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “I’m a friend,” Taehyung answered simply, choosing to remain neutral in tone.

  “I don’t know why you’re looking for her, but I got no interest in having you snoop around my business. Get out, son.”

  “Sir,” he continued, raising his voice but maintaining an impassive tone. “I just want to know where she is. I know she’s here and I’m not leaving until I see her.”

  “You’re one stubborn kid, and I tell ya, that’s worth a lot in this neighborhood. But you wanna know something?” he asked, leaning forward and lowering his voice to a whisper. “I don’t like stubborn.” He stood back up and flicked his hand towards the door. “So get out, kid.”

  “What you like is not my concern. But I can tell you that I have the option to come back with her family. Unless you can explain yourself to them, I think it’s better for you to let me see her, because either way it’s happening today or tomorrow,” he told him, authority beyond his age showing in his voice.

  The man leaned forward, head tilted down and his meaty face level with his. He spent a good minute glaring into Taehyung’s eyes with a hard look but Taehyung knew not to back down and returned the same.

  The man pointed a finger and him and shook his head. “You know what kid? You’re as stubborn as a mule and got way too much guts for your age. But you’ve got an honest face and that’s worth a lot. Come on,” he said, jerking his head toward the kitchen. “I’ll take you to her, but keep your hands to yourself and your mouth shut.”

  The man lumbered to the back, his beefy body swaying with his steps. With his phone in hand, Taehyung followed him into the cluttered, grey kitchen, passing a mop and bucket leaning against the wall. Busy workers shouted at each other as they cooked and cleaned through the smoky air filled with the scent of meat and dough.

  The man came to an abrupt halt and Taehyung looked forward to see a lone figure, hunched over the sink with her arms elbow deep in the soapy water, scrubbing away at dirty dishes. Behind her was the slightly ajar back door, revealing a slit of the night’s darkness. He felt a hard pat on his back.

  “There ya go kid,” said the man. “I’m warning you, don’t cause a scene.” With his final words, the man left him, shouting orders at his workers as he returned to the counter.

  Cautiously, Taehyung approached the sink, his eyes looking with concern over at the back door. “Park Bom?” he asked. 

  The girl dropped the dish in her hands and spun around, revealing Park Bom’s shocked wide eyes, which mirrored Taehyung’s own as his eyes fell on the bulge on her stomach, hidden behind a plastic apron.

  Park Bom jumped like a scared cat, her eyes darting around for an escape.

  “No no, don’t-!” he cried out, but before he could finish, Park Bom pushed open the back door and made a mad dash for freedom.

  Taehyung cursed at his bad luck and chased after her, ignoring the curious voices of the workers behind them. He met with a metal wall covers in graffiti and he turned to see Park Bom running towards the big, rectangular garbage bins. But before he could move to catch up, the girl stumbled and keeled forward, leaning on the bin for support as her arm wrapped around her stomach.

  “Oh my God, are you okay?!” he called out, rushing to her and helping her up.

  The girl hissed and gasped for breath. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I just shouldn’t have run. I got dizzy.”

  “Are you sure? Should I call for help?”

  “No, I’m fine! It’s just symptoms acting up.” She stumbled back and leaned against the metal wall, soapy water still dripping from her rubber gloves. Still huffing, she looked up at him with a fearful and questioning gaze. “Why do you know my name? Who are you? Did my parents send you?”

  “No, no,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m a classmate. Well, I’m a year above you but it’s the same school and we're the same age. Mr. Kim sent me actually; your parents don’t know anything about this.”

  She looked down and hissed under her breath, her eyes squeezing shut with frustration. “Frickin’ Mr. Kim. I told him not to look for me.”

  “I think in his case he has good reason to,” Taehyung reasoned. He remembered seeing Park Bom at school before, but back then she had looked bubbly and youthful. But the one out of breath before him had lost all of that, now looking mature with the effects of maternity settling into her face. His eyes fell on her pregnant stomach. “Is that…?”

  “Yeah,” she mumbled, not looking at him.

  “Is it Choi Seunghyun’s?”

  “You know him too?”

  “We’re acquaintances,” he answered. “Does he know?”

  “What good would it do?” she muttered.

  “Sorry if it seems like I’m butting into your personal issues but shouldn’t have the right to know? I mean, it is his baby. It’s his son.” The words sounded so foreign on his tongue as he said them out loud. The thought of an old classmate having children in high school was unbelievable.

  “Ugh,” she groaned, getting off the wall and releasing her hand from her stomach. “This isn’t about rights. He doesn’t need to know and I doubt he’d be happy about knowing. He’s got his own ambitions; getting into an entertainment company and be a famous singer. He doesn’t have time for this.” She emphasized the last word and pointed to her stomach.

  “Is that why you ran away?” he asked.

  Park Bom sighed and looked to her hands. “I’d say it was the catalyst.”

  “Look,” he began. “I think I can understand your situation. But you really shouldn’t have run away. You should realize that working at a place like this alone isn’t good for you and your child, and Mr. Kim’s been very worried about you.”

  She sighed again. “I know he’s worried.”

  “Then let’s get you home,” he suggested. “I’m sure your parents would be relieved to get you back and-”

  Her eyes grew wide and fearful. “No!”

  Taehyung was a little taken aback but he continued. “I’m sure you’re unwilling, but I’m sure your parents would forgive you, and they can offer you better support for you and your baby, and you can even finish you education."

  “No,” she repeated, her tone serious and dark. “You don’t understand, I cannot go back.”

  “Why not? Mr. Kim’s very concerned and I’m sure he’d help you.”

  “He’s different from my family,” she said back. “He’s not like them. You don’t understand my parents. If I go back, they won’t let me out of the house again, they’d force me to abort my child. Why do you think I left in the first place?”

  “They can’t force you into having an abortion.”

  “Oh no, they can’t,” she continued. “They’d just bring it up at every opportunity, pester me every minute of every day, and passive aggressively guilt trip me until I agreed. Oh sure they can’t force me, but they can sure as hell would make sure it’ll happen either way.”

  A brief look of confusion flashed in Taehyung’s eyes as he thought back to every mention of her parents. “Mr. Kim did say they were a little strict, but…”

  “It’s because my parent’s act differently to other people,” she growled bitterly. “They go to charities, they’re polite, and they have money, they look like the perfect family. Nobody would believe the teenage daughter.”

  “But,” he objected. “Even if they make it difficult, couldn’t you just bear through it until you graduated? You ran away into this neighborhood where you have no money or support, how can you manage?”

  “You don’t understand how bad it is there,” she explained. “They want to dictate the direction of my life. I couldn’t stand living there any longer. They control where I go, what subjects I do, when I’m supposed to sleep, and they even do background checks on my friends. I had to sneak out and borrow my friend’s spare phone just to date Seunghyun. It was either I leave now or I leave after I had the baby, and it’s easier I leave without them knowing about my kid’s existence or else they’d use my baby as collateral."

  She loked up at him with pleading eyes. "Please. I am begging you. Don't tell anybody where i am. I am happy here. It's not my ideal but it's my choice. And please, don't tell Mr. Kim."

  Conflicted feeling showed on his face and his fingers gripped at his phone. “I-I’m not sure I can do that.”

  “Please,” she begged. “I know my situation looks bad, but i'm not that helpless. I'll be fine on my own. I have a good friend helping me out and she gives me a place to stay, and Mr. Jung Hyungdong was kind enough to give me this job with no questions. I will be fine."

  "I..." he gulped, but his voice weakened as he looked at her pleading eyes. His grip on his phone slackened and he sighed. "Okay."

  "Thank you."

  He stepped away towards the back street. "This will be hell to explain to Mr. Kim," he grumbled.

  "Sorry, but really, thank you," she said.

  He looked at her stomach once again. “Does it have a name?”

  Park Bom shrugged. “I don’t know. Don’t even know the gender. I’ll figure it out when it’s born.”

  “Well, I wish you the best of luck. I really hope it works out for you,” he said, before he turned around and walked into the dark, empty street. From behind him, he heard the soft whispers of a thanks, but he continued on until he returned to the busy road.

  He looked down on his phone where Mr. Kim’s contact glowed on the screen, and he raised it to his ear to hear it ring.

  “Hello sir? It’s me, Kim Taehyung.”

  “Oh, Taehyung!” the man said in a hopeful voice. "What are you calling me for? Do you have any information on Park Bom?” he asked eagerly.

  “Yes sir, I uh, found her.”

  “Oh my god, thank Lord,” he sighed with relief. “Where is she? Is she okay? Did she tell you why she left?”

  Taehyung paused for a moment, unsure of how to answer. But he was a man of his word and he knew what he had to say. "I'm afraid I can't tell you sir."

  "What?" the man questioned, his voice sounding singular and loud. "Why not?"

  "I just can't."

  "Did you meet her?"

  "Yes sir, I did."

  "Is she nearby?"

  "Yes sir, very close."

  "Can you give me a reason for why you can't tell me?" he asked sternly.

  "I'm sorry sir, but I can't," he sighed. "but I promise you sir, she's okay. Nothing's wrong with her and she's doing well for herself. I don't think you have to worry about her anymore."

  On the other side of the phone, he could hear a heavy dejected sigh. "So it's just like how Yira said. I can't say I'm very happy about this. I truly hoped for more from you, but I suppose it can't be helped."

  "I am really sorry, sir."

  "It's okay, I understand. I'm not sure what I wished for but I just wanted a little hope or closure you understand? A conclusion. She disappeared so suddenly and without warning. I just wish she could have come to me with her problems. She could have trusted me."

  "Excuse me sir," Taehyung began. "But of all people, you were the one she said goodbye to right? You were the only one who called her and she answered. I think she knows how you feel. It's just circumstances that kept her from asking you. You were important to her sir, I don't think you need to worry about that."

  He hung up the phone and looked up at the murky sky empty absent of stars, his chest heavy with responsibility and a feeling akin to guilt.

  “You did well,” Yira praised.

  He jumped and turned around to see Yira beside him, wrapped up in a warm coat with a paper bag to her chest and a Chinese meat bun in her hand.

  “Can you stop appearing out of nowhere like a damn ghost?!” he yelled. “And stop following me; how do you find me in the first place?”

  Yira shrugged, taking a bite out of her hot bun. “Who says I was following you? I was just on my way home from getting dinner. The Chinese restaurant behind here makes fantastic buns.”

  He stood silently for a moment, watching as the moonlight lit up her serene face, his thoughts briefly suspended.

  “I’m not sure I did the right thing,” he confided.

  “Right or wrong is debatable,” she said, blowing air over the bun. “Either way in the long term, where her life is good or bad can’t be measured. But if it’s worth anything to you, she’d be grateful.”

  He looked over at the pizza place with a concerned expression. “Is she going to be alright?”

  “Depends on your definition,” she replied. “She’s going to struggle financially for many years and she’ll have to deal with multiple hardships, but this is the path she’s never going to regret. She’ll manage, and eventually reach a point in her life where she’s content.”

  “You knew all this from the beginning didn’t you?” he said, it wasn’t a question but a statement.

  She turned to him, tilted her head, and smiled in the moonlight, the bun still to her lips.

  “Do you have thirty dollars to spare?”