'Jake?', Sunghoon looked at his friend shifting uncomfortably in bed, his eyes sewn shut. It looked like he was having a bad dream. He looked at his phone to check the time. It was half past three. Jake had been unconscious for more than an hour now. 

He woke up with a jolt, opening his eyes. His pupils danced around but eventually rested in Sunghoon's direction. 'Jake,' he said, feeling relieved. 'You had a panic attack', he suspired. 'You got me so worried.' Jake looked back at him, nodding. His face was pale and worn-out. Sunghoon put his hand on Jake's shoulder. His clothes still felt damp with sweat. He felt terrible for him.

Jake had lost his mother and only family member three days ago, but somehow it always felt like a part of him refused to acknowledge her death. He didn't take a break from college and started going right when the session started. According to him, he had moved on and there was no use pondering about the deceased. There was no use of thinking about the things she used to do. The way she scrunched her nose while smiling, and the way her face would turn pink when she was angry. The way she couldn't dance even if her life depended on it.

There was no use reminiscing about the time he had spent with her. There was no use narrating anecdotes about their silly misadventures together.

His mother was dead.

The sound of her laughter and the sound of her voice, the way her hugs smelt exactly like her cookies - nothing really mattered now. Jeong Jimin, the nationally recognized pianist was dead. Her words, her promises, her wishes - everything had died with her.

Or at least that's what Jake had told him.

Sunghoon was definitely not the most emotionally intelligent person out there but he was pretty sure this was not how it worked. 'You want me to drop you home?,' he looked at Jake, his eyes wide with concern.

Jake shook his head and gave him a half smile. 'I'm perfectly fine now.' 'You sure bro?,' Sunghoon raised his eyebrows, creasing his forehead. He wanted to believe him. Jake patted his arm. 'I'm fine now Sunghoon,' he insisted, nodding his head and giving Sunghoon a wider smile. 'Besides you really need to go home. Yeji must've reached by now,' he said, glancing at the large clock in front of him.

Oh shit. It suddenly hit him. Yeji's school got over at 2:30 and she must've reached home about half an hour ago. He bit his lip and facepalmed. Jake looked at him and giggled. 'I totally forgot about her,' he said solemnly. 'She doesn't even have the key,' he frowned, feeling the key to their apartment in his jeans pocket. His apartment's keypad lock device had stopped functioning a couple of days ago. As a result, his family had no option other than using a manual lock.

'I think you're right. I need to go home as soon as I can,' he grabbed his backpack and slipped his arms into the straps. 'Take care bro,' he patted on Jake's shoulder. 'You too,' Jake smiled back, waving at him.

Sunghoon dashed out of the college infirmary, clasping his phone and keys in his right hand. He ran as fast as he could, reaching just in time to stop the taxi which was apparently dropping a passenger off at the moment. He grabbed the door handle of the car and slid in to the back seat.

'Huimang Apartments, Geumcheon gu,' he said. The driver nodded. It was a seven minute ride home but it sure didn't feel like that today. The guilt started to wash all over him. How could he be so irresponsible?

On the other hand, it felt weird that all this time his little sister hadn't even called him once to ask him where he was and what was taking him so long to reach home.

Unless.

Sunghoon started feeling uneasy. He picked up his phone and refreshed his call log. The latest phone call he saw on his screen was an incoming call from his classmate, Lee Sein. He tried to find any voicemails Yeji might've sent him. There were none.

His heart skipped a beat. The articles he had read the day before yesterday about the recent brutal murders in Seoul flashed before his eyes.

DECAPITATED HEAD FOUND IN HAN RIVER, VICTIM YET TO BE IDENTIFIED

His blood ran cold. He gulped audibly, holding his head in his hands.

What if she...?

Sunghoon didn't want to fill those blanks and he wasn't going to. He quickly shook that thought out of his head and took a deep breath. There could be numerous other reasons for her not contacting him. Her phone battery might have died. He exhaled deeply, rubbing his hands together. Yes, that was the only thing that could've happened, he reassured himself. The taxi came to an abrupt halt, making him jump. 'That'll be nine thousand two hundred sixty nine won and eighty five jeon,' the driver said, flicking the meter with his fingers while looking at Sunghoon. 

Sunghoon rummaged through his wallet and pulled out a ten thousand won note and handed it to the driver with trembling fingers. 'Keep the change,' he said before the driver could hand him the money back. The hell with change, he thought. He wanted to see Yeji as soon as possible. He wanted to know if she was fine. He rushed inside the apartment complex, and stood infront of  the elevator, ready to press his floor number once he got in. He groaned as his eyes fell on the tiny screen. The elevator was on the eighteenth floor at the moment and seemed to be taking forever to get to the ground floor.

'Screw this,' he muttered under his breath. He couldn't wait that long. Not right now.

He sprinted towards the stairs and started climbing two at a time. His backpack felt ridiculously heavy on his shoulders. His pectoral girdle felt like it would break any moment and his breathing felt labored. Just one more floor. I'm almost there, he told himself. He reached the third floor eventually. His eyes fell on flat number 305.

There was no sign of Yeji.

' Yeji?,' he said softly, his lips trembled.

His mouth felt dry. He forgot his shoulders hurt from carrying the backpack, he forgot his legs hurt from running too much. He hastened towards his apartment, his heart hammering in his chest. His eyes fell on something lying on the floor, inches away from the door of their flat.

A bag. Yeji's school bag.

He grabbed it in his hands, looking around, hoping to find his sister.

'You're messing with me, right?,' he smiled nervously, glancing sideways.

Pin drop silence filled the corridor.

Sunghoon felt sick with worry. 'Yeji?', he called out again, his voice was shaky.

He was on the verge of bawling his eyes out when he suddenly noticed something on the door. 'Eh?', he pulled the sticky note pasted on the door.

Oppa, I'm going to the arcade with my friends. I'm skipping my coaching classes today, please don't tell eomma and appa about it. Remember to pick my bag up, it's probably lying on the floor. Thank you :)

Sunghoon crushed the sticky note in his hand. His jaw tensed. 'Aish that stupid brat!,' he yelled in vexation, throwing Yeji's bag on the floor. 'Ah my legs,' he dropped drown on his knees. He touched forehead and hair. He was drenched in sweat. 'Ah my six hundred thirty won,' he grimaced. He pulled himself together and got up, unlocking the door.

I'll tell both eomma and appa about her trip to the arcade. That brat needs to face the music after skipping classes and almost giving me a heart attack, he thought as he flung his body on his bed, completely devoid of energy. 

Author's note
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