Daehyun took his normal booth in the corner of the store, while Eun Ah attended to the hungry customers when they got to work. She had harassed him in the car, teasing him about Yongmi as she started singing about knowing his secret.

The boy was so embarrassed that he couldn't retort and instead pouted in the driver's seat with a raging blush on his face until they pulled up to the shop. He kept trying to come up with a comeback but he'd just end up stuttering.

Eun Ah was smug the whole time, glad that she had finally found a weak spot. She hoped that Himchan would have the same weakness once he found a girlfriend.

When Eun Ah had first gone to work after the kidnapping she had told Halmoni that she was mugged, hoping to dumb down the truth. The woman was so concerned over Eun Ah's safety that she didn't detect her lie.

She had given Eun Ah a cream to tone down some of the scarring and bruising, but it didn't happen until she scolded Yongguk for not taking better care of her.  Eun Ah's haughty smile didn't last long before Halmoni her, hitting her with a spoon lecturing her about going out late and alone.

Daehyun would periodically look up from his book and glare at Eun Ah when she made eye contact but the look on his face would only make her smile more as she moved from table to table.

Yongguk used to ask her why she wanted to keep working. He said that he had more than enough money to take care of her and that she had no reason to keep working especially as something as psychically demanding as a waitress, but Eun Ah would turn down his suggestion to resign each time.

It wasn't so much about working for a pay check any more. Her life had changed so much over the last few months that the ramen shop is the only thing that was the same from before her life was in danger.

Being in that setting with Halmoni, her co-workers and the shop regulars was comforting for her. It was her home away from home and she just enjoyed being there.

It was an important part of her life.

The door bells chimed, signalling someone's entrance as Eun Ah placed a bowl down in front of a customer.

"Umm, excuse me? Sorry, but I was just wondering if there was anyone here who owns a car with the license plate BHFD 254?"

Eun Ah looked up and saw a girl standing by the front door. She looked about her age, with long black hair and porcelain skin. Her large eyes darted around the room as she spoke.

Daehyun stood up and raised his hand to get her attention. "Oh,  that's my car, is something wrong?"

She shot him a dazzling smile that flew over his head, "It's not thing really, it's just that it's blocking my car and I can't reverse out of the parking lot."

Daehyun nodded slowly and grabbed his keys while wearing a blank expression, "I'm sorry, I'll move it right now." He turned to Eun Ah and mouthed 2 minutes, stay put, I'll be back, before walking away with the girl.

About 10 minutes later Eun Ah glanced at the door and frowned when Daehyun still wasn't back. There was no way it was taking him this long just to move his car and she was starting to worry.

Maybe he's taking a phone call.

She sighed and started taking orders when she smelled something burning. "Dongmin, did you burn the rice again?" She called out to their chef.

She paused her hand when she didn't get a reply and furrowed her brow when the pungent smell of smoke got stronger.

Much stronger than a pot of burnt rice could produce.

"Dongmin? Halmoni?" She apologized to the customer and walked near the kitchen when she noticed that other customers were blocking their noses.

Her eyes widened when she saw smoke coming out of the back rooms. People started murmuring and the other waiters just looked at her, confused. Just as she reached for the door, it was swung open as one of the other waitresses came hurtling out, coughing.

She stumbled into Eun Ah's arms as thick black smoke curled behind her. "We need to get everyone out of the store, the back is on fire. We need to evacuate everyone. NOW."

The other employees pulled the fire alarm but the sprinklers didn't turn on, instead a whirring noise came from the little bulbs, refusing to spray water.

Eun Ah nodded, wide eyed, her body still in shock as she helped her co-worker out into the center of the restaurant while shouting orders, herding everyone outside.

Some of the customers who noticed the thick air and black smoke were already on their phones calling for help.

By the time everyone made it out, the top windows were already flickering angry orange flames and the restaurant level was engulfed in so much smoke that you couldn't see inside.

Everyone stood far away to avoid the scorching heat emanating from the building. Even from a few feet away, they could still feel the searing temperature. She heard loud crashes coming from the inside as parts of the upper floor started to collapse.

"Daehyun?!" She called as she stood on her toes and scanned the crowd, trying to find him but his brown hair was nowhere in sight.

She prayed that he wasn't back in the store somewhere but she knew that she would've seen him if he walked back into the shop.

"Eun Ah!"

She flipped her head at the voice, hoping to see Daehyun but she was instead greeted by another one of her co-workers.

"There you are! We were doing a headcount of all the employees and we didn't know where you went, we thought you were still in there."

"Is everyone here?" She asked as he led her back to the group of staff huddled together. She could hear them murmur, trying to figure out the cause of the fire that was currently ravaging the building.

"Yup, everyone's accounted for."

"Even Halmoni?" The words came out casually, as if she was asking for a formality, knowing that the old woman would be already walking around, seeing if all the customers were okay.

"I--S-."

Eun Ah spun around and faced him, "You don't know where she is? You didn't see her come out?"

He shook his head and looked back in the black smoke, scared, "She said she was going to be in her office, I was so worried about the all the extra staff, she had called in today,  that I hadn't looked for her."

Eun Ah started shaking as she stared at the crumbling building, "You mean she's still in there?"

The boy didn't say anything and just stared at the flaming store. The other workers heard her question and started mumbling in panic.

Fear filled her body and before she had a chance to think, she was already running back into the burning building, trying to look for the one woman that she owed her life to.

Her co-workers yelled her name, trying to call her back, but their voices dulled over the sound of sirens and thickness of the smoke. She had to find her before something bad happened.

Before she got hurt.

The minute she stepped in, sweat was already pouring down her face. The air was thick and humid and she could barely take a breath in.

She got on all fours and kept her body close to the ground as she crawled to the back of the store. She held her shirt over her nose and mouth and tried to ignore the feeling of her clothes becoming too hot to be comfortable.  Even moving was becoming difficult. The air was so heavy that it felt like it was resisting against her.

The smell of the burning building was making her sick but she only had one goal in mind.

Finding Kim Soo Jin.

She reached the doors to the stairs and put her hand on the metal handle. She cursed when it burned her palm and laid flat on he