In the Rain

Three days of absence

It had been a week since he met her in that rainy night. There were occasional chats and accidental meetings in the street, but there hadn't been anything for three days now. Kim Haejin hadn't come to their street and there were no reply to his last chat to her. It was as if she just vanished. Gimyung thought, maybe she had finally realized it wasn't a good thing being around someone like him who lived dangerously. However, he, somehow, knew that Haejin wasn't that kind of person who would just leave without a word. She always replied to him and most of the time it was her who started the conversations. Their conversations were silly and trivial sometimes, and other times, they would talk about heavier things about their lives. Haejin never treated Gimyung like a kid despite him being a few years younger than her. She treated him as a person and that was more than enough for him. At one point, Gimyung let her know about his parents just to see her reaction and to his surprised, she didn't change anything between them. He knew she had her own life and it wouldn't be strange to not contact each other for a while, but this silence between them felt strangely odd to him, if not ominous. He wondered if something happened to her.

Just before Km Haejin disappeared, she came by once more after her shift at the cafe and even bought some clothes from the noonas' stores. She looked fine and healthy. There was nothing off with her behaviour too and the next day, there was no news at all until today. Kim Gimyung never worried about things other than those related to Big Deal and the noonas, but now, for the first time, he was worried for someone else. Someone who wasn't even part of his group. A person who wasn't involved in his world before. He wondered if something was wrong with him, but the thought of Haejin might be in trouble, bothered him a lot. Gimyung was still busy with his thoughts when Yeonhee came in with a worried look.

"Noona? Did something happen?" Shinwoo asked, he grew worried as well.

Yeonhee turned to Gimyung. "Gimyung-ah, they said Haejin hasn't come to work since three days ago." Her words felt like cold water to Gimyung.

Gimyung put out his cigarette. "What? What about her brother? Did you ask him?"

Yeonhee shook her head. "He wasn't there either."

Han Shinwoo moved closer to Yeonhee and put his arms on her shoulders. "Try calling her, Gimyung-ah. Maybe she was just visiting her family or maybe she isn't well."

Gimyung took out his cellphone and immediately dialed Haejin's number.

His call didn't get through.

"Fuck.  Her phone's off," Gimyung said, staring at his phone and the unreplied chats he sent her.

Gimyung kept trying to call her every hour but

He cursed, regretting didn't ask her where she lived and didn't have Ryujin's number. He had no idea how to reach her now. His worry only got worse when the night came. The cold rainy night sent him back to when he met her the first time. She looked a little out of it. She didn't even care about the cold, if he didn't approach her, what would have had happened then? Gangseo wasn't the safest place, especially at night.

Was it luck that took her to where he was? Though fate always sounded like a ridiculous idea, he couldn't help thinking that maybe their meeting that night was fated. He was glad it was him whom she met that night. He was also glad that he didn't leave her alone when she might not be going home and kept wandering around in the rain with her soaked clothes. The possibilites of bad scenarios about that night filled Gimyung's mind, and now, she might be in a bad situation. He felt utterly irritated by the fact that reaching her wasn't possible for now. Han Ryujin didn't come to work as well and from what Yeonhee told him, his co-workers couldn't contact him either. Gimyung lit his cigarette as he leaned against the wall outside the restaurant at their street. For the umpteenth time he checked his phone, tried to call Haejin again. However, it was still the same. No answer. His innocent smartphone almost met its end if someone didn't come.

Gimyung looked up to see who was coming closer and his eyes grew wide.

Han Ryujin?

The man he saw at the cafe was quite different tonight. He looked haggard and quite distressed, as if he went through hell these past three days. When Ryujin wasn't saying anything, Gimyung's worry came to surface again. Haejin's brother didn't use an umbrella, he was soaked from head to toe. He looked even worse than Haejin that night. There were traces of blood on his shirt and when Gimyung looked carefully, there were also scratches on his cheeks. He didn't think Han Ryujin was the type to get involved in any kind of fights like him. If he were indeed got into a fight, there should be bruises on his face, not scratches. Gimyung couldn't take the silence anymore.

"What happened?" he asked, finally breaking the silence.

Han Ryujin looked up, showing how horrifying his state was. "Can you save her?" His voice was hoarse.

"What do you mean save? Did something happen to your sister?" Gimyung walked closer to Ryujin.

The man was only few inches shorter than him, something he didn't notice before since he didn't really pay attention to his physique when they first met. Ryujin's eyes were filled with anxiety as if he was afraid something bad would happen or perhaps it already did. The cafe owner who was always bright and gentle looked like a whole different person now.

"Ryujin-ssi, what happened?" Gimyung's voice was tad bit louder. He almost ran out of patience. "Did Haejin-ssi get hurt?" He continued asking as he squeezed Ryujin's shoulders.

"She hasn't been out of her room for two days now. She wouldn't answer when I knocked or called. She hasn't eaten anything." The desperate brother looked at Gimyung again. "She's been a lot brigther after she met you, Gimyung-ssi. Maybe..maybe if it's you, she'll answer. Please, please, she can't go on like this." Ryujin was on his knees trying to both beg and kept his consciousness afloat.

"Take me to her." Big Deal's No. 1 had never been this anxious and restless other than when he had to save Han Shinwoo. He gave Ryujin his coat and walked inside the restaurant, looking for Shinwoo. He rushed to his hyungnim, making Shinwoo choked on his soup. "Hyungnim, let me borrow the car."

Seeing how anxious Gimyung was, Shinwoo knew he shouldn't let him go alone. And, Gimyung rarely drove anyway, no way he would let him take his car alone. "I'll drive you. Where do we go?"

"Kim Haejin's house."