04 | A Mission

 

 

***

 

 

"Yoona? Are you alright?"

 

The question made the doe-eyed turn and nod to her friend and she continues to wipe the table. 

 

"Are you sure?" Jessica isn't convinced and she approached her.

 

"I'm alright. Just quiet tired, Unnie." Explained Yoona, pushing the chairs and walk back to the kitchen.

 

"You came late, something happened?" Jessica is still so curious. 

 

"Just my friend, I have to bring her to the hospital." A brief small lip-smile formed on Yoona's lips as she took the tray that has the ordered food from the next table. She exited the kitchen without waiting for any reaction from Jessica. Placing the plates and bowls on the table, Yoona bowed to the customers. "Enjoy the food." And she walks back to the kitchen with a relieved sigh as she returns the tray.

 

"What happened to your friend?" Ask Jessica when she appeared from the storage room with Tiffany behind. They brought some of the ingredients to the kitchen and carefully organize them.

 

"Just fell from a high place. Um, that customer... Seohyun? Did she... Came earlier?" Yoona asks as it crosses her mind.

 

"No. wae?" Tiffany answered. "But we're not yet close so maybe later."

 

"That woman said something to you that you're looking for her, aren't you?" Jessica teases as she finally faces the younger.

 

"No. I just don't want to see her again." Yoona shakes her head. "You know, she's annoying." She added in a chuckle way. Truth is, she doesn't want to get confused if she's in their restaurant. The fact that she looks exactly like Scarlet.

 

"I have the same feeling." Tiffany giggled and patted Yoona's shoulder. "Don't worry we are the same."

 

"Table six!" One of the waiters came inside the kitchen and handed a note to their chef, which made them go out to see if there are more customers and also to guard.

 

 

:::

 

 

Cold night and seems to be a peaceful street, Yoona walks alone occasionally letting out a yawn here and there hugging herself from time to time until she reached the building of her apartment, her phone rings in the pocket of her jacket. She decided to stay just outside and answer the call. 
 

"How's the bruise?" She beats her friend to greet her first.

 

[Not hurting anymore. Just one pill though. Hey, I called because I am at stakeout. Do you want to join me? You know to see if that girl or guy comes again. It's just a mystery to me that no stuff was stolen yet they keep coming here. But if they didn't, that means they have finally realized we've been here.]
 

"Same question. I feel like they're searching for something they couldn't find in my brother's stuff."

 

[Did you go into his stuff?]
 

"Nope. No, I did actually but nothing is interesting. They are just stuff in his field of work." Answered Yoona nonchalantly. But now that she heard it from her friend, something tells her to search as well. Maybe there's something that will change the way she thinks about her brother. 
 

[Let's catch one of these two then so we can have our questions answered. See you in a bit.]
 

Yoona just ended the call and finally walk inside and get into the lift in no time. She however stopped midway when she saw Soobin is outside her apartment. "What are you doing here? I thought you are busy?" she asks as she chuckles lightly. 

 

"You want some?" Soo-bin pulled up the plastic bag she's holding, flashing a friendly bright smile.

 

"I'm... I'm afraid I can't. Sooyoung, she's waiting for me." Yoona explained regretfully. "Maybe-"

 

Soo bin forcefully gives her the plastic bag that has Yoona's favorite spicy rice cake and black bean noodles. "Then grab some before you meet her." she said. "Yoona also, If you need anything, you know to talk, hang out, just call me okay? I'm not that busy anymore. I figured it's been a while since we did it."

 

"Yeah, indeed. I'll take this then. Thanks, Soo bin-ah. Appreciate your offer. I'll make sure to call you whenever." smiled Yoona as she felt grateful for her. The latter bowed and was about to leave when she stopped.

 

"Sunday, let's hangout." Soobin didn't even hesitate and announced. "Okay?"

 

"Yeah, sure." Without hesitations as well, Yoona agreed, and finally, her friend left. She unlocks her apartment and just lazily put the plastic bag on the coffee table as she takes off her coat and proceeds to the kitchen, hastily grabbing her bag of chips and put them on her backpack. Then she returned to the living room and decided to take the food her friend gave with her. She then wore her coat back and leaves the apartment in a hurry.

 

 

:::

 

 

Sooyoung is agape yet not surprised at all when Yoona steps into her car and started eating. She got her backpack with a bag of chips, typical shikshin Im Yoona and she herself is the same. "Mind sharing, Yoong?" she asks with a brief cute smile.

 

"I haven't had dinner, so potato chips for you." Yoona explained and handed one bag of it to her friend.

 

"Tsk. You bought that?" Sooyoung doesn't mind but she got curious about the noodles her friend is now slurping. 

 

"Soo bin dropped by. She wanted to eat this with me though but since I will have to steak out again, I declined." 

 

"I see." Nodding, Sooyoung opened her share and started enjoying her potato chips. "That girl or woman, I want to meet her again."

 

"To take revenge?" Yoona raises her brows. "You know, she got that bruise in your cheek." chuckled her afterward as she bites on her food again.

 

"No, to further investigate." Sooyoung corrected. "I feel like she was there not to search but to actually fight with that guy you mentioned."

 

Yoona nodded in understanding. "They are not on the same team then?" 

 

"Kind of like that. That it's just a guess. I'm not sure yet." Sooyoung glances at her friend in the passenger seat and smiles briefly before she put another chip on . 

 

"Lee Changmin, have you-"

 

"Wait, someone just entered the building I am not sure living there." Sooyoung beats her friend from saying something. "Let's change places. You wait from the ground floor and I'll meet this freak in your brother's apartment." she didn't mind waiting for her friend's reaction as she hastily jumped off of her car.

 

Yoona was about to leave as well when her phone rings and she cursed under her breath upon seeing Scarlet's contact ID. "Scarlet-ssi. Hey." She closes the door back.

 

[You're going to the fashion show tomorrow, right?]

 

"Tomorrow... Omo, indeed, it's Saturday. Yeah, of course, I am. I can't wait!" she got excited. "How's your day?" and she decided to stay in the car.

 

[Good. Fun actually.]

 

"Why?" Curious, Yoona wants to know more.

 

[I haven't told you but I'm actually still studying. Senior college now. I'm a bit late, aren't I? But life's really unfair sometimes that yeah, I have to continue to get a degree.]

 

The new learning makes Yoona smile giddily. "Age doesn't matter either way. So you're modeling to provides your needs?"

 

[Absolutely. By the way, I booked a restaurant tomorrow for dinner after the fashion show, so you better cancel your plans.]

 

"Omo, definitely would love to have dinner with you." Yoona giggles, couldn't stop smiling. "Can't wait to see you again."

 

[Same here. Good night, Yoona.]

 

"You too, Scarlet-ssi."

 

[Dream of me.]

 

"What?" Yoona is flustered after hearing it. She only heard her giggles and just end the call. She blinks and blinks and cups her cheeks with her two palms that are now heating up. "I really like her." she smiled giddily to herself. 

 

Just then, her phone rings again and she widened her eyes when she reminded herself she's in a steak out with her friend. "I'm coming out now." she hastily told her.

 

[No need to. That guy is a friend of a lawyer here. He visited him.]

 

"I see." Sighing in relief, Yoona is glad she didn't miss anything. But she smiled again, thinking of meeting Scarlet.

 

[Just come here and let's searched your brother's apartment.]

 

"Yes, see you in a bit." Ending the call, Yoona finally went to the apartment and meet with her friend.

 

"Yoona, base on the stuff we have discovered as we searched in your brother's apartment the first time, we didn't see any suspicious stuff or anything that can lead us to the 'suicide' case scenario. Everything is clean. There wasn't even a letter. But I'm curious, your brother has a laptop or what?" ask Sooyoung because as she remembers, they never saw one. If she's working in a government office, he definitely should own one.

 

"Just like I mentioned, he owns an iPad which is missing and his phone. I think he only uses them." Yoona replied as he searches on his brother's drawer, cabinet and so in the trash bin that has crumpled papers only. She checks them one by one and all of it is only blank. "Why would she crumple papers without using them?" she finally felt something weird about it.

 

Sooyoung lowered herself to also check the papers and indeed there isn't any text. "Feels like he's trying to write something. A suicide letter?"

 

"M-might be." Yoona goosebumps after hearing it from her friend. "And he just decided not to. Ugh, someone's pressuring him, for sure."

 

"Yeah, I have a feeling..." Sooyoung gets up and walks to the balcony, where it seems Siwan jumps off. "... he wants to kill himself at first but he changes his mind. So he packs his stuff and wanted to run away, but the culprit stopped him from leaving and pushed him off this building," she said as her mind imagines, Siwan meets the culprit at his door and he was grabbed. He probably tried to fight with the culprit but got overpowered and he was pushed off of his apartment.

 

Yoona took a deep breath and slowly relaxes. She did the same for the next couple of minutes before she joined her friend on the balcony and looked down, then the image of her brother came before her eyes, she hastily turned away, shaking her head. She couldn't breathe properly out of a sudden that she had to catch it. 

 

Sooyoung hastily rubs her friend's back to calm her. She knows it's still hard for her. "I guess those strangers will not be here anymore. But let's get some of your brother's stuff to run some fingerprint, who knows they take off their gloves." she took her gloves from her pocket again and wore it, as she returned inside and took the pencil from the case. Also took one of the crumple papers.

 

Yoona returned inside when she finally can breathe again properly. "That college friend of my brother, Changmin, I'll start stalking him next week."

 

"I was about to t