The officer sitting behind the desk let out an exasperated sigh.  "Look, I've told you before, there's nothing we can do if you can't give us anymore details.  Besides, no one's reported any missing person."

Sunggyu frowned.  "But I was there.  I saw them take him."

"If the boy was kidnapped wouldn't his family have reported him missing by now?" asked the irritated officer.

Sunggyu opened his mouth but decided against it.  It was useless.  He wasn't going to get anywhere with this officer who did not seem the least bit interested.  Sunggyu let out a dejected sigh and headed out the door where he bumped into a man who on his way in.

"I'm sorry," they both apologised in unison until they looked up at each other.

"Sunggyu?" said the man with slicked back hair dressed in a plain suit.

Sunggyu raised his eyes and looked questioningly at the man whom he had just bumped into.  "Detective Lee," he said, upon recognising the familiar face.  "I'm so sorry."

"What happened to your face?" the detective asked with concern upon seeing the bruises.

Sunggyu gave him a weary smile.

"I'll see what I can do for you," said Detective Lee after hearing Sunggyu's story as they sat in a nearby coffee shop.

"Thank you," Sunggyu replied with a smile.  He was relieved that someone believed him though he could not help but think that the reason Detective Lee was willing to believe him was because of guilt.  He had told the detective many times that what happened was not his fault but the detective still blamed himself for his uselessness.

"I know that you're not the type of person to just stand by and watch but you should be careful," reminded the detective.  "This time you were lucky that they only beat you up but if you mess with the wrong people the result could be much worse."

Sunggyu nodded, acknowledging the detective's words of warning.  He knew that the man was only worried about him.

"Alright, I have to get back to work," said Detective Lee.  He stood up about to leave but stopped and looked at Sunggyu.  "Don't stay out too late."

Sunggyu smiled.  "Have you forgotten that I am old enough to look after myself?"

Detective Lee frowned.  "You know what I mean."

Sunggyu sighed upon noticing the seriousness etched on the detective's face.  "Alright, I got it."

In the evening while preparing some noodles for his waiting customers, Sunggyu noticed a group of boys in school uniform walking on the other side of the road.  They were talking and laughing as they strolled along the street.  Sunggyu recognised the uniform as that of a prestigious high school nearby.  As he glanced away, he caught sight of a familiar face amongst the group.  The face of the kidnapped boy.  He was surprised and wondered if perhaps he was mistaken.  The boy turned his head in his direction.  Their eyes met.  Sunggyu was sure that it was the same boy from the other night.  Sunggyu seemed relieved knowing that the boy was alright.  He smiled at the boy but the boy quickly turned his head and glanced away.  Sunggyu was taken aback for a moment but then shrugged it off.  They were just strangers after all.  Sunggyu focused his attention back to preparing the bowls of noodles.  He was unaware of the boy stealing a glance in his direction.

After spending some time at a game centre, the group of boys decided to grab a bite at a fast food restaurant.  While the rest of the boys were talking and eating, one boy remained silent as he sat there staring at his food.

"Hey Woohyun," one of his friends called, trying to get his attention.  "Woohyun!"

He jolted upon hearing his name.  "What?"

"If you're not going to eat your burger, can I have it?" one of his friends asked.

He pushed the tray towards his friend.  He wasn't in the mood to eat.

"What's wrong with you?" another boy asked, noticing that he was not his usual self.

"Nothing," he replied.

"Where should we go after this?" one of the boys asked.

"Wanna try and get into some club again?" one of the boys replied.

"The fake IDs you got us last time were terrible," said another.  "Look at the trouble we got into."

Though Woohyun sat there with them, his mind was elsewhere.  Unable to restrain himself any further, he stood up causing the other boys to stop quarrelling.

"I'm sorry," said Woohyun.  "There's something I have to do."  He quickly grabbed his schoolbag and ran out the door.

Woohyun ran as fast as he could, all the while regretting his actions earlier.  He was so happy to see the man.  He had wanted to go over and talk to him but he let his fear control him.  Fear that if he got close then the man might be hurt again because of him.  He did not want the man to be hurt again yet he did just that.  He could not forget the disheartened look on the man's face.  He had hurt the man by pretending not to recognise him.

He ran back through the streets until he saw the stall up ahead.  He breathed a sigh of relief to see that the man was still there about to pack up for the night.  It was not too late for him to apologise for his behaviour earlier.  He smiled as he headed over to the man but the smile soon faded when he saw the man clutching his chest in pain.  Woohyun panicked and rushed over just as the man collapsed to the ground.