“Jun, they’re here!” he heard the voice of his mother call from the first floor. He had already known what would happen that day and he was dreading every single bit of it.

Jun loosened a few buttons on the suffocating dress shirt that his father made him wear and unenthusiastically flattened the wrinkles on his sleeves, dreading the way he looked in the outfit.

As he descended down the stairs, the sound of chattering became louder. He could have sworn that there was an entire office of employees flooding the confines of his house.

However, Jun got something different when he arrived in the living room. A family of three were sitting on the couch. The group was comprised of a healthy-looking, middle-aged man who was chatting with Jun’s father, a younger woman in a maroon dress who looked to be in her mid-20’s to which Jun presumed to be the parents. But what caught his attention was the young lady situated in the middle. She sat timidly with her hands rested on her lap and wore a red cardigan coupled with white pants. The brunette looked at Jun which his father immediately noticed.

“Ah, Mr. Nam, this is my only son Lee Sangjoon.” Mr. Lee said as he stood up to pat Jun on the shoulder.

“It’s nice to meet you, young man. Your father has been telling me a lot of good things about you” the older man smiled politely as the entire family stood up to acknowledge his presence.

“I-It’s nice to meet you to” Jun replied, slightly flustered by the amount of attention that was being given to him.

“Shall we get to lunch then?” his mother said as she gestured towards the table.

As the group were having their meals. Jun couldn’t help but feel uneasy towards the way the Nam family were monitoring his actions.

“Don’t be so nervous young man. We don’t bite, and we actually want to get to know more about you?” Mr. Nam said as he ran a napkin across his lips.

“So, tell us, do you have any special skills? Talents?” he continued

“Well, I like to cook” Jun replied. Trying his best to warm up to his guests.

“Ah yes, Jun makes a killer pasta” his mom chimed in. Albeit, the look on his father’s face told him that he wasn’t amused.

“Ah, you and your silly hobbies” Mr. Lee forced a chuckle as he rested his hand on Jun’s shoulder. The latter’s mood immediately soured at his father’s words.

“Actually, Jun here is a star athlete. He’s actually the captain of his basketball team which won several interbranch competitions” Jun lowered his head hearing his father exaggerate the nature of his short-lived athletic career. In reality, Jun only joined the varsity team to join his friends and was dismissed from the team after an injury.

“Someone who’s physically fit and good in the kitchen, your son and our daughter’s children will be blessed with godly genes” Mr. Nam smiled proudly.

Hearing what the older man had to say, Jun nearly choked on his food and tried his best to recuperate. The words that came out of Mr. Nam’s mouth were ludicrous to Jun’s ears. Was he suggesting that they were to be united?

“I’m sorry but, what is he talking about, abeoji?” Jun said as he looked to his father.

“You weren’t informed? Well let me be the bearer of good news here?” Mr. Nam said as he neatly positions his utensils across his plate.

“We have given you the privilege to marry our beautiful daughter Seungwan”

Jun gasped for air as he rose from the sheets of his bed. He grasped his cheeks to feel that they were burning up and felt his entire body freezing.

“What a dream” he sighed as he took a look around to realize that he was in his bedroom. He was almost convinced that the dream was real as it brought an odd sense of familiarity to him as if it were a memory rather than imagination.

Just as Jun slumped back down, he was alerted by the presence of a familiar voice.

“Honey, you’re awake” the voice resonated from the door. Jun turned his head to the source of the sound and saw Wendy standing by the door in nothing but a white oversized shirt.

Jun wasn’t sure how he felt at the woman’s choice of words and even more at the attire that she was wearing, especially since he can’t remember why she was in his house in the first place.

It wasn’t until Jun realized that he was fully underneath his blanket that he was finally able to grasp what was going on.

“What happened last night, Wendy? Why can’t I remember anything?” he said as he rubbed the palm of his hands across his eyes, trying to fight through the searing migraine that woke him up that morning.

“You drank a little too much last night. But don’t worry, I took real good care of you the whole time” Wendy suggestively said as she approached the young man and snuggled beside him on the bed. Though he was normally a gentleman, Jun instinctively moved to the opposite direction to give some inches between him and the blonde.

“You should have went home, or at least slept somewhere else in the house” Jun said, not trying to hide the disgust in his voice. Although he had grown to be comfortable in the presence of his boss, he never saw her more than just a co-worker, a friend at best. Even though she came off as attractive to his eyes, he found her strong-minded demeanor to be mildly intimidating and struggled to break the borderline between business and personal relationships when it came to her.

“You sound so repulsed; don’t tell me you don’t enjoy the idea of us coming together” Wendy said, her mood changing as fast as the snap of a finger. Jun felt that feeling of uneasiness rise up from within him once more. He wasn’t sure if what he was about to say would make him lose his job in the process, but he felt that he had to set things straight with his boss for once.

“I’m sorry but… I don’t see you like that” Jun said as he turned his head away from Wendy, unable to stare her in the eyes over the fear that it might be the last thing he would ever see.

He was expecting a slap to the voice, a sigh of disappointment, or even a simple walk out. But instead, he heard the woman scoff in her place. Jun turned his around in disbelief at the woman’s response. Instead of a look of disappointment, Wendy had a smug smirk on her face which surprised Jun even more.

“You surprise me, Jun. I didn’t know a man such as yourself would have bad taste” she scoffed as she adjusted herself to sit on the edge of the bed. Jun didn’t appreciate the tone that she was having, her words further confusing him even more as she sounded like a completely different person at that moment.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, feeling a hint of irritation at Wendy’s smug behavior.

“You don’t see me that way? Then who? That poor excuse of a woman you keep around here?” Wendy said as she finally stood up from the bed. Jun was appalled at the blonde’s words. For an individual who oozed with classiness on the outside, he couldn’t believe such vulgarity could come out of .

“What the hell are you on about?” he responded, the disappointment in his voice now prominent. He wasn’t sure why Wendy was acting the way she did, but he wasn’t having it one bit.

“You don’t think I notice the way you look at her? The way you act around her? How you prioritize her over your work?” the blonde retorted causing the young man to stiffen in his spot. He gulped as he thought of how Wendy could have possibly figured it out.

He didn’t know how much more of the situation he could handle, he was confused, tired and hungry. All he wanted was Wendy out of his sights that very instant.

“Please leave, before I lose even more respect for you” Jun said as she covered himself with his blanket.

Wendy scoffed before taking off for the door. As she closed it behind her, she quietly muttered to herself.

“Time for Plan B”

As Jun stepped into his kitchen, he felt a mysterious feeling of emptiness pester the back of his mind. He grabbed a mug and set his coffee-maker in motion before setting down on the dining table to check his phone. Only then noticing that it was four in the afternoon, Jun facepalmed himself knowing that he was past his shift. The lingering migraine that never left the young man since the moment he woke made it clear to him that he was in no condition to work. He also knew it was probably best not to encounter Wendy for the rest of the day as well, if she was reporting for work that is.

It took Jun a good 10 minutes to realize what was missing as his coffee maker signalled it's completion.

"Hm... this is a little late for Chewy" he muttered to himself as he left his mug behind to check upstairs. However, as soon as he arrived in one of the rooms, the young woman was nowhere to be found.

Being somewhat familiar with Chewy's tendency to wonder aimlessly around the house, Jun decided to check every single room in the house.

From bathrooms, to storage rooms and even the closets, not a single trace of the girl can be found.

Unwilling to be phased, Jun assumed that Chewy was just playing a sick joke on him and he was growing tired of it.

"Alright, you win, I give up. Now please come out and have lunch" he called out, his voice resonating through the hallways of his house. Rather than a response, Jun received nothing but the faint traces of the echo that his voice left behind.

The slim man let out a groan as he marched down the stairs and took his position in the middle of his living room.

"This isn't funny anymore, come out." he called out, feeling increasingly agitated as the minutes passed on.

This was an entire new for Chewy he thought to himself. Normally she would only ignore him when she bore ill feelings, but completely avoiding his presence was something she hadn't done before.

He wasn't sure what he'd done to upset her, but he wanted to put an end to the anxiety that was eating him up from within.

"Ok whatever it is that I did, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for sending you up early last night, I'm sorry for ignoring you for Wendy. But please don't do this, it's unbearable" Jun practically begged the empty space that all that was left for him to do was kneel.

After once again hearing his own voice replying back at him, Jun realized that something was wrong inside the house. Specifically that one of it's inhabitants could be missing.

"No, it can't be" Jun muttered. He immediately ran to his room to get dressed.

Reaching out into his pocket to retrieve his phone, Jun dialed a number he hadn't contacted in so long.

"Hello?" a male voice replied.

"Felix, do you have time? I'm kind of in a sich here" Jun asked, not giving his cousin time to finish himself.

"I don't know man,  I'm kind of busy right now" Felix replied.

"Chewy's missing." Jun said frantically, it took his Felix a while to respond which Jun mistook as a sign of the line getting cut. He was relieved when he heard his cousin's voice perk up again.

"Come meet me near your favorite resto, I'll pick you up from there"

Stepping out into the open world, Jun wasn't necessarily sure where he would go. It didn't help that he had no idea of the possible places Chewy could frequent on her own, all he knew was that he couldn't bear the responsiblity of Chewy getting harmed.

Chewy didn't expect to be in familiar grounds so soon in her life. But there was something about the way that her body reacted with unfamiliarity to the cold streets that bothered her conscience. She had gotten used to the comfort of Jun's house that she herself was starting to believe that she was a middle class girl that deserved all the luxuries in the world.

But despite all the comfort that she was receiving, something within convinced her to run away. The site of her housemate sharing intimacy with his co-worker was too much for her to bear and she hated it even more that she couldn't understand why she feeling that way.

Hungry, frustrated and exhausted, Chewy found herself doing what she did best before she met her unlikely hero; begging for food. As usual, no one payed attention to the slim girl everytime she'd approach a stranger for help. But even on her worst days, she'd be able to receive at least some leftover food that juvenile deliquents would toss at her, and then she'd be content for the rest of the day. She figured it must be due to her unconvincing appearace; she was clean all over, wore an oversized pink shirt that Jun just bought for her.

After hours of futile efforts, Chewy decided to resign herself for the day with the hopes of finding a quiet place to spend the night. She stationed herself in an isolated alley that was fortunately not far away. She stared at the dark corner as if pondering her own decisions for a moment. The walls were dusty, the ground was covered in puddles of murky water, various metal and wooden scraps were scattered at various points of the alley, and the air gave off an unpleasant odor of gasoline. But it was better than sleeping in the busy streets, she thought to herself.

Chewy hesitantly pressed herself against the wall and slowly sat on the hard ground, her knees tucked into her arms as her head rested on them. Despite her eyes being swollen from hours of bawling, they still managed to bring out an extra batch of tears that slowly ran down her haggard face. 

'I deserve this'

'Why am I feeling this way for him'

'Just go back home'

'I have no home'

Chewy's mind warred on, breaking her already damaged psyche even further. Her hair a mess and her clothes stained by the surface of the wall, she looked no different than the day Jun found her. Only this time, she had no hero to pick her up.

The sound of a door opening perked Chewy's attention, although she did not bother to look up. The sound of footsteps trodding along the wet ground grew louder and louder causing the young woman to fear for her life. However, instead of the usual repulsive remark, or the feeling of an object hitting her body, the footsteps suddenly stopped.

"Hello there, young lady. Looks like you could use some company. A deep, graveling voice greeted. Chewy looked up and saw a tall, middle-aged man staring her down. The man had a soft grin on his face that, rather than providing warmth, made the young woman slightly uncomfortable in his presence.

"That's no place to sleep, young lady. I have a nice comfy bed back in my place. Maybe you'd wanna stay over?" he asked, the grin on his face growing even wider.

Chewy was incredibly bothered by his presence and so she forced herself to stand up and attempted to walk away. However, before she could get any further, she felt a hand tightly grasp her wrist. She then felt herself getting slammed on the concrete wall as a heavy weight was pressed against her torso.

"It's not polite to reject generous offers, young lady. Perhaps I have to teach you a lesson" the man said as he eyed her from head to toe. His ice cold grip was unforgiving against her fragile body.

Before Chewy could even think, the tall man immediately lunged forward.

"No!!!"

Jun tucked his hands into his pockets as he stood in the freezing cold, he was dressed in a black, padded jacket coupled with a black scarf around his neck. It was taking Felix incredibly long that he was considering just going his own way. It had been approximately 2 hours since he realized Chewy was missing and his mind was racking up the possibilites that could happen to the defenseless woman.

A white range rover suddenly pulled up in front Jun, snapping him out of his thoughts. The window's rolling down to reveal his cousing behind the wheel.

"Get in" Felix says without looking at the older.

The drive was awkwardly silent at first, both men never taking their eyes off the road until Felix decided to break the ice.

"What happened?" he said, his voice hinting a sense of dissappointment.

"I just woke up this morning and she was gone. I couldn't find her anywhere in the house" Jun replied, his voice hoarse from the cold temperature.

"Yeah no , sherlock. Might you have an idea why she did so?" although Jun was hesitant to answer at first, he felt like he knew exactly why she acted out.

Felix noticed his cousin's hesitation and decided to divert his question.

"You know for a first honor graduate, you're quite a terrible caretaker" Felix said, letting our a small chuckle and finally lightening the mood inside the car. Jun let out a half relieved, half exasperated sigh as he leaned back into his chair.

"Ok I get it, I'm sorry for the way I treated you the last time we met." Jun forced a chuckle out of himself.

"And I haven't forgotten what you said either" he continued.

"And? What about it?"

Jun thought to himself before answering.

"Maybe I do love her after all"

"You can open your eyes now, dear" Chewy was surprised to hear another voice call her out. She was shaking vigorously against the wall with her arms held up in front of her chest. She was still terrified from the vicious assault that she nearly had to endure, but now that it seemed to be over, she took the chance to look at the outcome.

And she was greeted by an eerily familiar face.

"You shouldn't be getting caught in places like this, lots of creeps like to hang around here" Minjun said as he smirked at the young woman.

Chewy hadn't expected to see the charismatic doctor so soon. Yet there he was, dressed in a white polo draped by a large, brown coat. The collar of his polo was slightly crumpled, showing signs of physical struggle. When Chewy looked towards her right, she found the older man lying on the ground unconscious, blood lightly seeping from his lower lip.

"How 'bout we get out of here before he wakes up?" Minjun said as he generously held out his hand for the young woman. Chewy took a few moments to think about her next decision. For she was very aware that the man in front of her did not possess the purest of hearts either. But, after taking another glance at the older man on the floor, she realized that she did not have much options.

And so she hesitantly placed her hand inside Minjun's palm, his cold appendage causing her to lightly flinch.

Minjun's smirked grew into a full smile as he escorted the young woman to his car.

Will Jun be able to find Chewy in time?

What kind of relationship did he and Wendy have in the past?

Will I be able to finish this story before quarantine ends?

Hopefully :)