*** COMPLETED *** Until the World Explodes (Han Seoul-Oh)

Chapter 22: "I am absolutely in love with our little family."

It was a little after two in the morning, and Han still hadn't yet returned home. He said he was going to work in his garage. I offered to go, but he usually never let me because of who hung around there. Instead of arguing with him on it, I agreed. He kissed me goodbye, and I hadn't seen him since. That was at 8 p.m., a little over six hours ago now.

Some nights, I was able to fall asleep without waiting for Han to come home, others, like tonight, I stayed awake. Sometimes I had bad feelings about something happening to him because of who he was involved with, but they often went away when he came home unharmed. He wasn't answering any of my calls or texts this time, which only made my anxiety worse.

It was only 10 a.m. in Los Angeles, so I figured Dom would be awake by now. I decided to call him to see if he'd heard from Han. They usually stayed in close contact, and I knew he wouldn't lie to me if Han was in trouble.

"Audrey? You alright?" Dom asked on the first ring. "It's late there, why aren't you asleep?"

"I haven't heard from Han since around 8. He said he was going to work in the garage, but he hasn't answered any of my calls or texts like he normally does. Have you heard from him?" I wondered if he could hear the panic in my voice. I hope it didn't cause him to want to hop on the next flight out here. That was something he would do. "I'm worried."

"No, I haven't heard from him," Dom said quietly, which made my heart sink. "Have you tried getting in contact with Sean? They hang around a lot together."

"Yeah, but he said he's not there tonight. I guess he's got something else going on. Maybe I should try goi-"

"NO," He said loudly, making me jump and hold the phone away from my ear slightly. "You're not going down there, are you stupid?! It's the middle of the night, and you're not-"

"Not in the safest part of Tokyo, I know," I muttered with an eye roll. I was so tired of hearing that phrase. "I'm just worried, what if something's wrong?"

I heard movement in the background along with a woman's voice that I immediately recognized as Lety's. I felt guilty for calling them so early, but I just wanted to know if Han was alright.

"Nothing's wrong, trust me," Dom said after coming back to the phone. "Han knows how to handle himself. He'll be back soon. If he's not, call me, alright?"

"Okay," I sighed, rubbing my face as I looked down at the tv remote in my lap. "I love you."

"I love you, kid. Stay safe."

And with that, our conversation ended and I wasn't any less nervous than I was before the conversation. Dom never has lied to me, and he's right, Han can carry his own. I decided to take a little catnap on the couch and hope that when I woke up, Han would be here carrying me to our bed.

About an hour later, some pounding on the door scared me awake. I snuck very quietly over to the peephole and saw what looked like two police officers, and I swear I felt my heart come out of my chest. Slowly, I unlocked all of the locks on the door and opened it, coming face to face with the officers.

"Are you Audrey Sinclair?" They asked in broken English. When I nodded, the other opened his mouth to speak and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"Han Seoul-Oh was killed tonight in a crash. We believe it was intentional, and an investigation will be opened. So sorry for your loss," He said as he studied my face, giving me some papers and telling me to come identify the body. Minutes later, they left.

When I shut the door again, I leaned up against it as I started crying. I slid down the door and buried my head into my knees as my sobs got louder. Han was dead. How long had he been dead before I was notified? Who killed him? So many questions were running through my brain as I struggled to pull myself together.