Jinyoung POV

Sang Ki walked into class silently the next day. Everyone got quiet and just stared. I knew I shouldn’t ask her any questions and I think everyone else did too. Class started and finished as usual. I stood up, going over to Sang Ki, she hadn’t moved the entire day.

“Sang Ki-ah, do you want me to walk you home?” I asked. She stood up and just walked out. I followed, not wanting to let her go alone. I walked a few feet behind her on the way to her house.

She rang the doorbell and her father opened it. She walked past him and he looked out to me. He nodded as thank you and shut the door. I really want to know what happened now.

The next day, Thursday, she came in quietly again, but today people tried to talk to her. She wouldn’t even look up at them. I attempted to talk to her to no avail. Gongchan didn’t dare talk to her; I think he believes that it’s his fault she’s like this. And I think Shinwoo was in the same boat. But I wanted to talk to her.

“Sang Ki-ah, I’ll take you home.” I said. She stood up.

“Today’s science club…” she said. Her voice was so sad sounding.

“Don’t worry about that. Let me take you home now.” She resisted.

“I have to go.” She said.

“I…I’ve already canceled the meeting, now let’s go.”

“Don’t lie. I can get home on my own and I’ll go to the meeting.” She said firmly.

“Ok then…if you really want.” I wanted to just drag her home, but I knew I shouldn’t force her to do anything right now. We both walked to the science room. I started setting up todays lab as the members walked in. I explained the lab, but I stared at Sang Ki the whole time, just as all of the members were.

We were all concerned about her. Rumors had gone around and the news was passed from class to class all over school. I think that some people knew about what really happened, but no one would talk about it. Personally, I had asked about 30 different people over the past two days and they all either said they didn’t know or what Shinwoo had. They wouldn’t tell me, saying it was a personal matter.

I finished talking about the lab, but no one moved. “Can we start now?” Sang Ki asked.

“Ah, yeah.” I said, everyone starting to slowly get to work. I went over to her; she was starting to set up the lab. I couldn’t help, but worry every time she stood still. We all silently finished the lab. “I’ll take you home now.” I said.

“I’ll go by myself, you need to clean up.” She said, starting to leave. I grabbed her arm.

“I’ll just be a minute, wait for me.” She went outside. I only took a minute and she was already gone by the time I came out. I had really only taken a minute, she couldn’t have gotten that far.

I quickly left, hoping to find her. I couldn’t find her along the path to her house and rang the doorbell to her house, thinking that maybe she already got in.

“Sir. Is Sang Ki-ah back yet?” I asked right as her dad opened the door.

“No, didn’t you go with her?”

“I told her to wait a few seconds when she tried going on her own and she left. I looked for her, leaving only a few minutes after her, but I couldn’t find her.” His eyes dropped.

“Don’t worry too much…she’ll come back later.”

“What?! How can you say that!? Don’t you see how sad Sang Ki-ah has been these past days? I don’t even know what happened to her and I’m worrying so much!” I yelled at him.

“This is something that she can’t just push away; it’s something that stays in her brain. I can’t do anything or at least I’m unable to get through to her…”

“Can you tell what happened? Maybe I can help her instead.” He hesitated.

“I think I may have to tell you. I know that Sang Ki will never tell a soul and as a friend, you might be able to cheer her up or talk to her or something.” He led me inside and we sat down.

“When Sang Ki was halfway through middle school, she met this guy.” He started. “The guy didn’t go to her school; he was older, by a lot. She started mentioning to me that this older man kept following her, or at least she thought that.”

I didn’t like where this was going.

“Soon the guy tried to talk to her. She didn’t know if she should yell or talk to him, but I’m guessing she didn’t push him away. I’m not sure what happened for the next month or so, but one day Sang Ki came home really confused. I don’t know why. The day after, she didn’t come home.”

I really don’t like the sound of this.

“We called the police and they found her. She was badly beaten and her clothes were ripped to shreds. I think you can understand what happened. I don’t even know everything that happened; only Sang Ki knows.”

I stood up.

“I’m going to go find her.”

Sang Ki POV

I walked around; the middle school looks so small when you’re older… I walked to the wall behind the school, where we had kissed. Still looks the same. I should have pushed him away…that time when we we’re at the wall. At least I did with Gongchan this time. Or I guess Jinyoung did.

I kept walking along the old paths in the school. I bent down next to a bush. This stupid bush where I first saw him from. I was so naïve back then, I didn’t even think about it when he kept talking to me. I mean, I knew he wasn’t someone I should talk to, but I thought he was nice at the same time… It was completely my fault.

I stood up, walking again. I almost wanted to go to the shed where we last saw each other, but…I was too afraid that he might be there again. I knew he wouldn’t be, but I still couldn’t go there.

I left the middle school, starting to go home. I didn’t really want to go there either. I walked more, my cell phone kept ringing in my hand, but I didn’t look at it. Finally, I went to the elementary school, sitting on their little jungle gym.

This is where everything was good. Everything was innocent. Nothing hurt.

Jinyoung POV

She won’t pick up her phone. I had searched back at the high school and all the parks nearby. I was half expecting her to be silently and slowly swaying on one of those swing sets, but she wasn’t… Her dad said that it happened in middle school, right? Maybe she went back there.

I got to the middle school, she wasn’t there. Where would she go…I don’t know too much about her and especially not in this situation. It doesn’t even seem like her father knows too much about this incident. I called her phone, I didn’t expect an answer, but hoped for a ring. Of course, I couldn’t hear one; she’s probably not even here…

I kept walking, thinking about where someone who went through that kind of event would go. I wonder if she would go to the place where it happened. No…I don’t even know where that is anyway. I kept walking. I kept calling her every other minute in case I heard a ring. I didn’t…

Instead I quickly went back to her house. “Sir, do you know any places where Sang Ki-ah would go?” I asked her father as he opened the door.

“Not really…I told you not to worry about it. Just go home now.”

“How can you not worry?!” Something’s definitely wrong with this guy! How can he just say, oh she’ll come home eventually?! He shut the door. I’m not just giving up like that.

I kept going from place to place, calling her, to no avail. This time I decided to leave a message. “Sang Ki-ah, are you outside somewhere? I’ve been searching all night, ever since you left the school… I looked at the middle school and all the parks around and so many places…please call me and let me know if you’re at least safe.” I worried most about if she was safe. What if someone took her?

Soon she my phone rang. I picked it up before the end of the first ding. “Hello?” I asked.

“Jinyoung-ah…I’m safe.” She hung up. Good, at least I know she’s safe… I called her back. She answered this time. “Just go home now.”

“Where are you?” I asked quickly, not knowing if she would cut the line.

“I’m safe. Go back home, your mom’s probably worried.”

“That’s not important right now. Tell me where you are.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does! How can it not matter?!”

“Just go home.”

“Actually I don’t need you to tell me where you are.”

“Ok then, bye.” She hung up.

“Sang Ki-ah.” I said to her. So she was sitting at the elementary school. “I know what happened.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jinyoung really found her, what's he going to say?

If you have anything to say, feel free to do so. I think I'll update the next chapter today too.