Jimin woke up to find Jaehee sleeping soundly on her shoulder. Looking over to the other side, she saw that Jihyo was awake and was in deep conversation with Hyewon. Jimin noticed that Hyewon’s eyes were puffy red, the kid must have been crying for hours. The door to the conference room where they were staying was ajar, Jimin could hear the voice of her father as they conversed with a man. She could not recognize the voice however.

A sudden cold sensation on her arm nearly made Jimin yelp. Looking to her right, she saw Chaewon holding a cold bottle of tea against her arm. Mouthing thanks, Jimin got the bottle and opened it. Drinking from it had jump-started her mind and several truths sunk into her mind.

Soojin was kidnapped.

They were in police protection as of the moment.

All of their parents were missing.

Haseul’s beige fur jacket was draped over an office chair. On the chair was her bag as well. Maybe they had gotten out for a moment? Jimin thought, connecting the conversation her father had with the observation made. Perhaps their parents were in collaboration with the police? Helping furnish leads that can help in Soojin’s recovery maybe?

“Jiminnie?” Jaehee sleepily called out.

“I’m here.” Jimin said as she offered her the bottle of tea Chaewon had given her.

As Jaehee drank, the door opened a bit and Soeun went into the room. She was clearly devastated. Her black hair which used to be always neatly combed lay unkempt. The eyes that radiated confidence and strength only had a thousand-mile stare when one looked into it. Their friend seemed crushed, defeated by the incident. Jimin felt sorry for her friend. She silently tapped Jaehee who understood what she meant and sat upright.

Jimin stood up and walked over Soeun who buried her face in her jacket that lay on the table. That jacket was Soojin’s gift for her, given only a few months ago. It was, in Hyejoo’s words, a classier version of Soeun’s favorite olive jacket. Picking up a boxed meal and a bottle of juice, Jimin sat beside Soeun. She noticed that food was running low.

“Hey dude.” Jimin softly said as she sat beside her.

Soeun moved her head towards Jimin’s side without lifting it from the jacket. Gently pushing the food towards her, Jimin invited her to eat.

“Thanks…I’m good.” Soeun said as she stared blankly towards the wall.

“Soojin…would want you to eat. Knowing her, she’ll be worried about you. I’m sure of it.” Jimin said, trying hard not to let her voice crack.

Nodding, Soeun slowly tried to lift her head. Opening the Styrofoam container, she broke the chopsticks in two and began to slowly eat. Jimin opened the bottle of juice for her and stood up, patting her shoulder as she went out of the room.

“Your parents are over at Lt. Colonel Shin’s office if you need them. They’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” A female police officer standing by the hall informed her.

“Oh, thank you. No no, I’m going to get food.” Jimin said.

The officer nodded and signaled to another officer who went into another room. Seconds later, four officers came out. They were going to accompany her on her errand. Jimin knew better than to resist and she let the officers come in addition with two of her usual bodyguards. Climbing into her Jeep, the bodyguards got into the back and the officers into an unmarked cruiser.

Driving to the nearest McDonald’s Jimin bought a couple buckets of chicken and nuggets along with a couple of spaghetti platters. Heading to a convenience store, Jimin bought six bottles of soda and water to keep them hydrated. Once done, she headed back to the station. The errand took no longer than half an hour and she was back in the conference room once again.

Hyejoo was beside Soeun when she arrived. The younger sister laid her head on her sister’s shoulder as she dozed off. Hyunjin was also beside Soeun along with Yerim. Placing the food by the table, she sat back on her seat beside Jaehee and waited for anything to happen.

Haseul was leaving Lt. Colonel Shin’s office. She went down to the lobby to get a cup of water. As she sat down on one of the steel chairs, a woman came rushing into the station.

“Where’s my Do-young?” She said to the officer on duty by the front desk. She introduced herself as the wife of the fallen bodyguard.

There was a little girl who tugged at the hem of her mother’s shirt. A brown teddy was in her free hand as she looked obliviously at the people in the station.

The officer got out of his desk and led the wife to the waiting area. He explained that the child must stay here because children were prohibited in the morgue. The officer glanced at the kid when he mentioned the word morgue. Seeing that it made no sense to the child, he was partly relieved.

“I’ll watch over her. No worries.” Haseul said, volunteering to keep the girl company.

Mrs. Shim was thankful as she followed the officer, trying her absolute hardest not to cry in front of her daughter.

“Hi. What’s your name? I’m Haseul.” Haseul introduced herself with a smile. Vivi watched her wife interact with the child, happy at the distraction the young kid provided her with.

“Ja-Yoon.” She said as she stuck her finger in .

Jinsol had come down looking for Haseul when she saw her friend with the familiar child. She had remembered encountering her in a coffee shop. It then dawned on her when she saw the grim expression on Dae-woo’s face.

“She…is Do-young’s daughter. Ja-Yoon.” Dae-woo whispered solemnly.

Jinsol went to Haseul and joined in on them. She was surprised that Ja-Yoon recognized her.

“Auntie from the cowi shop! Hi!” Ja-Yoon said with a open mouthed smile. She still had a few teeth missing which only added to her cuteness. Her mispronounced words added to her cute appeal as both Jinsol and Haseul fawned over her.

“Hello! What are you doing here?” Jinsol asked, crouching down to Ja-Yoon’s level.

“Eomma…told me that appa is going home. But he has to rest. I don’t really understand why auntie.” Ja-Yoon innocently told them.

Sharing a look, Jinsol conveyed a message to Haseul that she immediately picked up upon.

This kid belongs to one of their former bodyguards.

Jinsol played with the kid, asking her questions about herself. She found out that Ja-Yoon was a kindergarten student and she wanted to be a businesswoman. Taking note of this, Jinsol made sure that her dreams would come true. It was the least she could do for them. Handing her one of her business cards, Jinsol scribbled a note at the back, telling the family to contact her should they need help. Ja-Yoon accepted the card and gingerly placed it on the small pouch hanging on her neck.

Ja-Yoon’s mother came out of the morgue, face red from grieving. Seeing Dae-woo, she rushed the man, hugging him. Ja-Yoon saw this and recognized the man. Running to him, Ja-Yoon held her arms out.

“Uncle Dae-woo!” Ja-Yoon called out.

Dae-woo mustered a smile and crouched down to Ja-Yoon’s level. He ruffled the girl’s hair and asked her how she was doing.

“I’m okay! There’s kind aunties over there who looked after me. Uncle where’s appa?” Ja-Yoon innocently asked. Apparently, death was something the toddler didn’t understand yet.

It took everything to hold Dae-woo together as he tried to ease the concept into Ja-Yoon.

“Well…little one. Appa got into a big mission. He needs to rest and it’ll take quite a while.” Dae-woo said as he held her close.

He stole a glance upwards towards Min-hee, Do-young’s wife. She was holding it in with all of her willpower to avoid Ja-Yoon from seeing the reality of the situation. The little girl was too young for things like these.

“Tell me when appa is done with his mission oka