Jisoo stood frozen over her place beside the telephone table. Her heart paced restlessly against her chest, adrenaline picking up and making her hands clammy. Everything was as still as the night. Even breathing hurt as she feared that it would be heard by someone.

She was alone in the house. Or was she?

She slowly brought the cordless phone back on its place and curled like a ball on the floor.

Maybe it was just coincidence. Maybe the crazy caller was just a prank call. Maybe the wind picked up inside and closed the door. Maybe everything was just her imagination because it was two in the morning and there would be enough reason to blame it on the devil's hour, right?

Yeah, maybe that was right. She was getting crazy. It must be the blues.

Sleep didn't come around that night. She was awake for too long just to see the sun blare its rays on the world. She was even awake just in time to hear Jiwon's SUV pull up in the driveway.

Jiwon.

Jisoo felt relief washing her features. Jiwon. Jiwon's here.

As she heard the jingle of keys beneath the main door, she stood up and opened it herself. Jiwon, dressed in his crisp, grey suit, stared perplexed until she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Her husband, in the midst of his confusion, managed to wrap an arm around her waist. "What happened to you, babe?"

"J – Jiwon, there was someone in the house."

His body grew rigid. "Who?"

"I – I don't know. That's the problem, I don't know!"

"Did you call the police? Why didn't you call me too?"

The slight rise of his intonation made her feel anxious. Unable to say anything, she kept shut. It wasn't until he gently pushed her away that she realized she was shaking.

"Nothing bad happened, right?"

She shook her head.

His features noticeably relaxed. "I'll report this to the police."

"O – Okay. You do that."

There was silence that passed between them for a while, with Jiwon looking at her as if searching for something. It unnerved her for some reason. Whatever he was thinking was disregarded as he sighed.

"I'm sorry for always leaving you alone." He took her in his arms again. "I even promised your dad to keep you safe all the time."

The way he said it stirred things inside. Through the silent fights, she seemed to forget how much he was willing to throw away his pride just for her.

"I'm sorry too, for being so cold. I – just, with her gone, and me being—"

Jiwon shushed her. "I don't blame you. You did your best. Now let me do my part too." He planted a kiss at the top of her head and gazed lovingly at her. With equal affection, he said, "I love you. You know that, right?"

Her heart knew what to say, but at the same time, she couldn't find the strength to say it back.

For all the people she had failed, she felt it with Jiwon the most. No matter what they say, she was the reason they lost their baby.

Instead of saying it back, she broke his gaze and held him even tighter.

The red and blue lights seemed to reflect inside the house as the police car parked behind Jiwon's SUV. Jisoo pulled the curtains down and went beside Jiwon who opened the door. Two police officers emerged from their yard, looking formidable with their bluish green shirts and navy blue trousers.

Jisoo felt overwhelmed because of the two gentlemen's tall height. She felt like standing among giants.

The tallest one out of the two bowed politely and showed his badge. "Officer Lee Seunghoon, at your service."

He had jet-black hair, trimmed with the military cut, with the sides cleanly shaved. He had sharp and foxy-like eyes, looking as if he was alert all the time. He also emitted an aura that seemed overpowering anyone who comes his way. His tall, lanky figure deceived anyone that he was a police officer. If anything, he looked more than a model parading the uniform.

The other tipped his hat, slightly bowed and the same with Seunghoon, he showed his own badge. "Officer Kang Seungyoon."

Unlike his partner, Seungyoon had full, disheveled bangs covering half of his forehead. The most prominent feature he had was his plump lips and the ability for his eyes to look keen and bored at the same time. While Seunghoon exuded vigilance, he emanated a lax air, as if he had been here many times already.

Jiwon opened the door a little wider. "I'm Jiwon and this is my wife, Jisoo."

"We are responding to investigate a probable home invasion," Seungyoon informed. "Mind if we come in?"

Jiwon shook his head. The two came in and took hesitant steps, stopping just at the living area while carefully surveying the surroundings.

"Can you retell us what happened last night?" Seunghoon inquired as he took out a small notepad from his pocket.

Jisoo hesitantly looked at Jiwon who only gave her an encouraging nod.

"I – I was just going to sleep until our telephone rang. I thought it was my husband because he always call when he's out of town. I heard nothing at first but after a while, someone was breathing heavily on the other line, like – like an angry growl or something until it said something along the lines of..." She gulped before proceeding. "–of calling me beautiful when I cry. Then I heard our door at the back shut. It's impossible, you see. It could only be opened from the inside, like a fire exit. Our realtor said it's like that because the previous owner built it himself."

Seunghoon nodded and wrote something on his notepad. After that, he flipped it shut and directed his gaze at the telephone beside the couch.

"May I?" he asked, as if out of politeness. Jiwon gave him a nod.

The officer pressed a button on the telephone and read something on the mini screen. He frowned after a while.

"There are no unregistered incoming calls in the call log. You sure it's not from a family member or a friend?"

As far as she could remember, she didn't touch a thing in the house the moment she heard the backdoor close. To check it herself, she read the call logs as well.

Kim Jiwon
010-XXXX-XXXX
12:35:02
05-29-22

Kim Jiwon
010-XXXX-XXXX
09:02:56
05-28-22

Kim Jiwon
010-XXXX-XXXX
14:12:28
05-27-22

Kim Jiwon
010-XXXX-XXXX
.......

It was all calls made by Jiwon, which wasn't out of ordinary. Jisoo pressed more buttons, hoping to see what she wanted to see, but it didn't.

This was strange.

"I – I swear, I heard someone call me last night."

"We'll check up on the phone company to double-check. It might be a bug from the telephone device. It can be unlisted though."

"Oh," Jisoo mumbled. "Okay. I hope you track the number."

The other officer then proceeded to walk past the kitchen to scrutinize the backdoor. He grabbed hold of the lever but found it locked. For it to be locked came as a surprise to Jisoo. If that door opened last night, it would've stayed unlocked. She didn't budge from her position at the floor to have the guts to lock it. In fear of being labeled paranoid, she didn't point that out.

Seungyoon came back to join them on the living room and drew out a wistful breath. "There are no signs of forced entry around the house." Seungyoon pointedly looked at Jisoo. Being put in a spotlight with the officer's gaze made her uncomfortable. Thankfully, as if sensing her discomfort, her husband put an arm around her shoulder.

Seungyoon's gaze flicked at the contact for a while before looking at Jiwon. "We may not be sure yet but the door closing could be caused by a strong wind. Since we have no evidence of a home invasion, this can't be considered a real case. But just in case, we'll check the telephone company."

"Check your locks frequently. It can be from an animal messing around. But for safety measures, always be alert all the time," Seunghoon added.

Jiwon's face grew glum. "We just moved in, and with this to happen to us..."

"Neighborhoods like this are practically safe, but there are some who take advantage of new tenants who haven't settled nicely yet," Seunghoon remarked as he took a black, rectangular shaped card from his pocket. "This is my number. Call us if you find anything."

Her husband took the card and muttered a silent thanks. The officers tipped their hats and finally took their leave, with Jiwon leading them out.

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as she slumped on a nearby couch. It felt like energy was drained out of her in an instant. Maybe it was for the fact that she hadn't slept a wink yet. Resting was the least of her options though.

When her husband came back to the living room, she could feel his eyes glazing with concern. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it tight.

The silence was broken as his phone rang. He brought it out of his pocket and answered it.

"Hello? Yes. Oh... But I can't – I'm sorry – Just—I just dropped by at the office to fix that, hyung. What? They lost it? How could they—Alright, alright. I'll see. I'll call Donghyuk about it. Bye." Click.

When he brought his phone down, he distressingly tousled his hair.

"Problem at work?" she found the liberty to ask.

"It's nothing... Just... someone messed up but don't worry about it. I'm sure they can handle it."

"Jiwon, if you need to go, go. No one's stopping you."

"But—"

She sent him an encouraging smile and nodded. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. I'll just call my mother to stay with me for a while. Until then, go do what you have to do."

There was hesitation passing in his eyes before he sighed in resignation. "I'm sorry, Jisoo."

Shaking her head, she replied, "You don't have to be sorry for anything. Just go."

"Okay."

And with that, without even a proper goodbye or a kiss on the forehead, he was out of the door.

Jisoo knew she proposed the idea first, but why did she feel disappointed her husband could leave just like that?

"How's my baby girl?"

Jisoo distanced herself from the newcomer, barely escaping the clutches of her arms. "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore."

Her mother put her arms down and sighed. "It always worked before. Why you gotta grow up?"

Jisoo rolled her eyes and opened the door wider for her. "Welcome, mom."

Sandara Park, Jisoo's mother, still looked radiant and beautiful, as if she never aged at all. Maybe the lines became more prominent in her face over the years, but she still looked the same as she did ten years ago. It was because for this reason that her children possessed the very same genes keeping the siblings look youthful.

Sandara stepped inside as her daughter closed the door behind her. She removed the red scarf around her neck and wordlessly gave it to Jisoo. As she took it, she saw how her mother's eyes wandered around the house.

"This place... It's nice."

"I'm happy that between the two of us, you think positively of this place," Jisoo commented as she neatly folded her mother's scarf, her sight at the accessory lingering for a while. It seemed weird, scarf on a summer day, until she remembered her mother easily gets cold. Shaking her head, she placed the piece on top of the couch at the living room.

Sandara looked crossed. "Is this about me persuading you to move? Do you still feel resentments about that?"

Jisoo was in no mood to fight, so she attempted to drop the subject. "There's food on the stove. I reheated some take-out."

But her mother didn't look done yet. "You know we have to settle that problem one way or another."

"Look, mom. I'm sorry but I don't want to talk about it right now. I have a lot on my plate as it is."

She sighed, finally noticing how distressed her daughter was. Jisoo had dark circles, her cheeks hallowing as if she lost weight, and her skin, bright and radiant before, now colored as unhealthy paleness. Any indication that she saw all of that was disregarded, or she just chose not to speak about it at all. Either way, her mother knew she was still suffering.

Stepping closer, her mother took Jisoo's hands in hers, caressing the back of her hands with her thumbs.

"I know how hard and difficult it is, Jisoo. I'm a mother too and I know I'll not bear the pain of losing you or your brothers. I wish to die before all of you because the pain feels unbearable even when I'm just thinking about it."

"Don't say that," Jisoo persuaded, finally letting her heart warm a little. The thought that someday she was going to lose her mom too made her feel melancholic.

"I hope you understand why I have to do that. You become so immersed with yourself you fail to see other people revolving around your world. Jisoo, it's not a sin to be mournful about your child but you have to take care of your relationships with others too. You're affecting them more than you expect."

"—The husband who supports you all the way... don't you think he's suffering too? You're not the only one who lost someone important in your life. He also did. We all did. We understand what you're feeling, but you have an important role in your husband's life now, and if you continue to push him away... I know you'll regret it for the rest of your life. That young fellow always knows how to light the glow in your eyes. Do you want to lose that factor in your life?"

Jisoo bit her lip and shook her head.

"You need this change more than anything. You've become so closed-off we fear we're losing you day by day. We love you, Jisoo. It's the only reason why we had to do the things we had to do."

Her daughter stayed silent. Honestly, her words made her think. No matter how much she puts Jiwon down, he'd put up with it, showed her how much she meant to him through his hugs and kisses. And if he thought it was too much, he was the one distancing himself, thinking maybe distance was all she ever needed.

It made her realize, distance wasn't what she needed after all.

Sandara, as if sensing her inner thoughts, gave her a tight-lipped smile and let go of her. "Let's talk later. For now, I have an afternoon drama to watch."

-to be continued-