And I remember, all those crazy things you said

You left them running through my head

You're always there, you're everywhere

But right now I wish you were here

   Dawn had arrived and soon, the village will be bathed in daylight. The villagers set off for the jungle to search for the missing Jooyoung before the warm rays of the morning sun could beam down on the village. The villagers were divided into three different groups and they would be searching at the different areas of the jungle. Dr. Shin decided to join in the search as well.

   The whole jungle was filled with the echoes of the villagers’ voices calling for Jooyoung. They searched high and low for him but Jooyoung was nowhere to be found. It was mid-afternoon and the blazing heat from the sun made it unbearable for them to continue searching. Everyone was overcome with exhaustion. They were on the verge of giving up but for the sake of the doctor who had helped them for the past few days, they managed to pull through.

   Their hopes of finding Jooyoung remained high when they found Jooyoung’s backpack at a foot of a ridge. Dr. Shin noticed a patch of dried blood on the fallen leaves. The fear thoughts of Jooyoung being injured and dying looped around in his mind.

   Dr. Shin picked up Jooyoung’s backpack and observed the surrounding, “Jooyoung should be around this area. Let’s continue searching.”

   At that moment, one of the villagers found a trail of dried blood not far from where they were standing. They decided to follow the trail and it led them to a makeshift base camp.

   “Someone must have found Jooyoung and brought him here,” Dr. Shin made an assumption.

   “We are not aware of any base camp here. This is not our village’s,” Arun said.

   Dr. Shin ran his fingers on the blood-stained wooden table, “Someone tried to help Jooyoung and he/she must have taken him somewhere. Can we check if there is any Korean man being admitted to the hospitals nearby?”

   Arun nodded and instructed one of the villagers to contact the hospitals.  

   “I think we should return to the village. I have a feeling Jooyoung is not in this jungle anymore. Hopefully, he is in any of the hospitals nearby,” Dr. Shin sighed.

~.~

   Once they ended the search mission in the jungle, they returned to the village. Dr. Shin, Arun and a few of the villagers gathered in the village halls.

   “According to the villagers, there is no Korean man being admitted to the hospitals or clinics,” Arun solemnly said.

   Dr. Shin heaved a heavy sigh, “Where could Jooyoung have gone?”

   “We have contacted the police and they will help us to find him. We have also informed the Embassy about this,” Arun said.

   Dr. Shin could only manage a nod as he was overwhelmed with mixed emotions.

   “Dr. Kim will be safe. We will try our best to help you.”

   “Arun, I will be going back to Korea tomorrow. I have to meet Dr. Kim’s wife and pass her his belongings since she has the rights to keep them.”

   And so, Dr. Shin booked the latest flight to Korea and flew off to meet Hyorin.

~.~

   Dr. Shin reluctantly stepped into Hyorin’s house. He could not help but feel regretful when he saw Hyorin’s dishevelled and weary state. She was sloppily dressed in Jooyoung’s oversized shirt with her hair tied in a messy bun. Her bloodshot eyes showed that she had been crying all night. Hyorin greeted Dr. Shin and led him to the living room. Dr. Shin took a seat in front of Hyorin.

   “Would you like a drink?” Hyorin forced a tiny smile.

   Dr. Shin shook his head, “I’m good.”

   “What brings you here, Dr. Shin? Any news about my husband?” Hyorin began shooting him with questions that she was dying to know.

   “We are still trying our best to find your husband, Mrs. Kim. We believe that he is still alive. We believe that someone saved him and brought him out of the jungle. We will be contacting the different agencies to help locate your husband.”

   Hyorin’s lips trembled faintly, “Please help me find him, Dr. Shin. I… I don’t know what I would do without him. Please, I beg of you.”

   Dr. Shin smiled sadly, “We will try our best, Mrs. Kim. We found his backpack and I thought that you deserve to hold on to his backpack.”

   Dr. Shin placed the backpack on the coffee table. Hyorin reached for the backpack and hugged it tightly. A tear gathered at the edge of her left eye as she mouthed a thank you to Dr. Shin.

~.~

   That night, Hyorin locked herself in the bedroom and rummaged through Jooyoung’s backpack. The backpack still had his scent and she sniffed the backpack to get his scent as tears welled up in her eyes. She reached for Jooyoung’s GoPro and briefly looked through the photo gallery. However, a particular video caught her eyes.

   She played the video and her husband’s face could be seen in the video. “Right now, I’m probably in the middle of the jungle. I’ve just came across a butterfly which reminded me of my wife. The butterfly is beautiful, just like my wife. She loves butterflies and I wanted to catch that butterfly for her. However, I don’t think that would be a good idea. So, I’ve whispered to the butterfly my love for my beautiful wife and I hope that the butterfly would convey this message to her as I let it fly away. I really miss her and I can’t wait to meet her in a few weeks time. Wait for me, Kim Hyorin.”

   A single tear slid down from Hyorin’s puffy eyes, followed by another one, and another one, until soon, a steady stream of salty tears flowed it’s way down her cheek, releasing the sadness and sorrow that she held in. The noisy sobs echoed through the empty bedroom.

   Please come back, Jooyoung oppa. I need you.