After dropping off Wheein and Joohyun, I drove around aimlessly.

At first, I was resolved to end whatever plans my father had for me and Joohyun – even before the blind date – but seeing Joohyun in person, I wasn’t as opposed anymore. Then, Wheein showed up and my head became a complete mess; I didn’t know what was what anymore.

Why does everything become complicated whenever we meet, Wheein-ah?

“That’s a lie,” a dry chuckle escaped my lips, “it’s not that complicated. All I need to do is tell Dad that I’m out. That it’s not gonna happen with Joohyun. Yep. Easy peasy.”

As if. Easier said than done.

I let out a long sigh and turned into an alleyway, pulling the car to a stop.

I was still a long way from home, but I didn’t want to go home right away. I was single, unattached and kept pining for someone else’s girlfriend – I didn’t want to feel even more miserable than I already was.

I decided to distract myself with something else.

I reached into the glove compartment and fished out a black flip phone – a burner I bought specifically for my favourite private detective.

“Hello, Mr. Kang?” I said as soon as my call was answered. “It’s me, Byul.”

“Oh,” a feminine voice came in reply instead of the gruff voice I was familiar with, “he mentioned you before. I’m sorry, but my father isn’t available.”

“I see,” I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed, “so when is he-”

“He’s not available. Ever.”

Oh.

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Miss Kang. When did he pass away?”

“A week ago,” the woman let out a long sigh, “I’m just glad he closed all of his cases. The only one left is yours, Miss Byul.”

“He…talked about my case with you?”

“No, but he left a lot of notes, so it’s not that hard to catch up.” There was a slight pause before she continued, “I’m guessing you’re calling for an update?”

“Yeah…if that’s not too much for you, Miss Kang.”

“It’s good to be busy…and you can just call me Seulgi.”

“Okay…Seulgi.”

“So…” I heard the sound of papers rustling on Seulgi’s side, “…this is a missing person’s case. Ah, I see that your missing dogs have been found…but your mother’s whereabouts are still unknown. I’m sorry, Miss Byul. I’ll keep looking into it.”

“Yes, please. Thank you, Seulgi.”

I turned off the phone and tossed it back in the glove compartment. I let out a long sigh, frustrated that there was still no news about my mother.

When I was forcefully returned to my parents’ house a year ago, my mother was nowhere in sight – neither were my three dogs. I knew my father had a problem with the dogs, but I thought he would at least still be civil with my mother even when I wasn’t around.

When I asked him about it, my father just told me that she went on a long trip after I disappeared from the hospital. He hadn’t heard from her since and with her gone, there was no one to take care of the dogs anymore, so he sent them away.

I was furious at first, but there wasn’t anything I could do other than to look for them. As soon as I was released from my confinement six months ago, I hired Mr. Kang again and put him on the case. One month ago, he found the three pups – they were adopted by someone I thought I would never see again.

Thinking about the dogs and that person, a smile involuntarily formed on my face. I checked my phone and groaned – it was too late to pay them a visit.

“I guess I can see them tomorrow,” I muttered to myself as my fingers flew across the phone’s keyboard, texting that person about my plans, “I hope I’m not intruding in her plans…”

She replied within a minute, making me smile. The playdate with my kids was set for tomorrow and then lunch with their beautiful guardian. Sweet!

Finally, something to look forward to.

A huge yawn suddenly escaped me. I stretched my body and limbs as much as I could within the confined space of the car. But it just made me feel even more tired and sleepy.

“I guess a quick nap is fine…”

I made sure the doors were locked before I turned off the engine. I adjusted my seat until it was comfortable enough for me to lay down on it. Then, I grabbed the spare blanket I kept in the backseat and threw it over myself. I closed my eyes, thinking that it would be hard to fall asleep in a car like this, but I dozed off within seconds.

I woke up with a jolt, sweating and out of breath.

I was a little disoriented until I remembered that I had fallen asleep inside my car.

Why would I have that dream again? The only reason is…

As I was pulling myself out of the sleepy haze, I heard the pitter-patter sound of rain falling against the windows.

Ah, so it was raining…

I let out a groan and ran a hand through my already messy hair. I always hated it when it rained while I was asleep; I also hated that there wasn’t anything I could do to control it.

Truthfully, rain was never the problem – it did make me feel nostalgic and all – but rain at night? That was absolute nightmare for me.

Every time it rained, especially at night, my mind would flash back to that rainy night in the cemetery – the gunshots, Aoi’s body, my screams – and every single detail would carry over into my dreams, turning my memories into nightmares, waking me up in the middle of the night, sweating profusely and trembling from head to toe. It was better if I didn’t sleep at all on those nights. The worst part was if I was outside when it rains. I would completely freeze up, unable to function at all – hearing the gunshots, the screams, seeing the bodies lying unconscious on the ground. I didn’t know which was worse – having a waking nightmare or waking up from that nightmare.

But tonight, I had slept outside, not expecting rain in this cold weather. A shiver ran down my spine – from the sweat trickling down my body and the chill that came with the rain. I my engine and checked that the heater was on before I put my trembling hands in front of it.

I was almost warm again when my phone started to vibrate.

I checked the clock on the dashboard – it was half past three in the morning – and wondered who was calling me at this ungodly hour.

“Yes, hello?” I answered, cradling the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I kept my hands in front of the heater.

“Oh. I’m so sorry, Byulyi-ssi. I accidentally called you.”

I frowned. “Joohyun-ssi? Are you okay? You sound upset.”

“It’s nothing-”

I heard someone calling for her in the background. It sounded like it was raining over there too.

I frowned.

Why is she out in the rain? At 3 am?

I tried listening closer, trying to deduce the reason, but I could only hear muffled noises; Joohyun probably had her hand over her phone.

“I’m really sorry, Byulyi-ssi,” Joohyun’s voice was back again, sounding even more upset, “I have to go now. Sorry again for the trouble.”

“It’s fi-”

She hung up before I could finish my sentence.

I looked at my phone, the heater, my warmed hands and then out at the rain, pondering on whether I should head home now. The rain had trickled down to a light drizzle and I felt a little better than when I first woke up.

I guess it’s time to go home…

But then I started thinking about that phone call with Joohyun. I was curious about who Joohyun was talking to; she sounded really upset before the call ended. She was at Wheein’s apartment, right? So…she was talking to Wheein?

Did she have a fight with Wheein?

I shook my head. “None of my business,” I muttered.

I took a deep breath and exhaled all the worries in my body. Then, I put my car into gear and drove out into the main road, ready to get back home.

But the worry inside me was still there – something was still nagging at me, tugging at that need-to-save-damsel-in-distress instinct inside me. I rolled the thought in my head for one minute, hesitated for one more second, before I let out a loud groan and turned my car around, heading for Wheein’s apartment.

When I arrived, the rain had stopped and there were two police cars parked in front of the building.

My heart thumped with worry.

I hope it’s nothing too serious…

I parked a few blocks away from the building and walked the rest of the way. There was a police tape blocking the entrance with a single police officer guarding it. I tried looking past his broad shoulders, but it was hard to make out who was who and what was happening in there.

Frustrated, I turned to the officer. “Hey, can you tell me what happened here?”

He looked me up and down before letting out a grunt. “There was a robbery. The victim slipped and fell. That’s all you need to know.”

That means the robber got away. I hope the victim is fine…

But a slip in the rain could lead to a very bad consequence and I shuddered a little at the thought. I had my own share of misfortune in the rain and I didn’t want to relive it just then.

I quietly thanked the officer and walked away from the entrance, bumping shoulders with the people that was starting to gather. It was barely six in the morning and people were already minding other people’s business.

I ignored the growing commotion and walked towards the alley beside the building, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was happening inside. But instead, I found a man, wearing a ski mask, crouching down in the middle of the alleyway, digging frantically through a very expensive-looking bag. I remembered the policeman said something about a robbery and this man looked like the most likely suspect.

“Police!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. “The robber is in the alleyway!”

The masked man looked up at me, startled. He let out a loud, screeching noise before throwing the bag away and ran away from me. But at the other end of the alleyway, a burly police officer was already waiting for him. I watched briefly as the masked man was taken into custody, kicking and screaming.

Before the police comes to seal off the alleyway, I quickly went to where the man was crouching down and scanned the items he had scattered on the ground. My eyes caught sight of an identification card issued for Bae Joohyun. I started feeling sick in the stomach.

No…

I whipped out my phone and dialed Joohyun’s number, hoping against hope that she was okay.

“H-Hello?”

My heart involuntarily skipped a beat. “Wheein?” I forced the words out, trying to sound like my normal self. “Wheein, why do you have Joohyun-ssi’s phone?”

“Byul-ah,” Wheein started crying, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be distant with me, “Byul-ah, she’s…she’s…”

My heart ached for the pain in Wheein’s voice; all I wanted to do then was wrap my arms around her. But I was also worried for Joohyun.

“Wheein-ah, listen to me,” I said sharply, hoping to make her focus more on our conversation instead, “where are you right now?”

“At the hospital…” Wheein hiccupped, probably surprised at my change of tone, “…I came with her. She’s in surgery right now...”

Surgery? Oh no. That’s not good…

“Okay. Text me the address. I’m coming, Wheein-ah.”

I hung up and practically ran for my car.

God. Please let Joohyun-ssi be safe.

It was all I could think about as I sped towards the hospital.