Hahm Yunhee is home. A place of safety. A place of comfort. And yet, a large segment of her heart is missing, left behind in an unreachable world.
Park Jimin is trapped in a parallel universe, fighting for survival while striving to find a way back...
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Jimin was right.
It was the perfect place to unwind, the tweeting birds in the landscape gardens and the distant city dancing beneath the amber sun bringing a peaceful solace.
The last time Yunhee stood here, she was swathed in a blanket of crimson chiffon and lace, drinking champagne with the man now snoozing upstairs. Today, she had left his side to wander through the quiet mansion and out onto the ballroom balcony after a terrible night's sleep.
For hours she'd lain awake, charting the faint patterns of the ceiling with a gruelling headache while thinking about the daunting task that lay ahead.
Yesterday's briefing was only the beginning, and though the men had been assigned a number of tasks to try and locate Hobi, the list of cargo containers Namjoon had given her was blinding.
It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
To add insult to injury, the one person Yunhee was relying on the most had not arrived. Tae had promised her that he would join them, but all she'd received was a few missed calls after taking a long bath, and his voicemail when she'd tried to phone him back.
It was disheartening to say the least, especially after their sincere chat. The secrets of Tae's sordid past were out in the open, leaving a lump in her throat, a tear in her heart, and a needless wish that he had come to her sooner so that she could make sense of their broken relationship.
There was no doubt in Yunhee's mind now that Tae was better off without her. Being single would allow him the opportunity to flourish and figure out what truly made him happy. She'd hoped that his coming here would be the first step on that journey, but somewhere between their conversation and nightfall, he'd changed his mind.
Tae had always preferred to play by his own rules. If he showed, he showed. If he didn't...
Well, it was out of her control. What mattered most was finding Hobi. Not the disappointment cruising through her veins.
Resting her elbows on the balustrade, Yunhee crept onto her tiptoes and peered down at the hideous cherub spurting water from its pudgy mouth in the centre of the fountain. She was too busy weighing up the angles in which she could hit it with a sledgehammer to notice she had company, not until a pair of arms enveloped her waist and drew her away.
'Mind you don't fall, clumsy,' Jimin greeted hoarsely, his plump lips scraping her neck as he crushed her spine against his chest.
'Good morning,' Yunhee beamed, sliding her fingers up and around his nape to tangle in his hair.
'Good? You abandoned me at six in the morning to come and eye up my fountain. What's good about it?'
'Sorry, I couldn't resist,' she giggled as Jimin linked his fingers around her navel. 'It really is a work of art.'
'And I'm not?' he goaded temptingly.
Yunhee couldn't see it, but she knew he was grinning as his teeth nipped her skin and covertly summoned her back to bed. It was tempting, but if they disappeared beneath the sheets again, they'd waste away the hours and not appear until the afternoon.
