The Fault in Our Sunrise (A JenSoo Fanfic)

vi.

"Yoo-hwa, please," Dad pleads. "Please, let's talk this out. I'll change. I'll do everything you want, just please don't leave us."

"How many chances have I given you?" Mom retorts. "How many times did I ask you to change? To be a better husband to me and a better father to our children? I have had enough, Wang-yeo. I'm leaving and it's final."

"Mom, I know you're tired," Hae-in reasons with her, "but you can't do this. If you leave Dad, you'll leave us too. We're your children, Mom. Please, just one last chance. If not for Dad, then for me and Jisoo."

She looks at us with unspoken anger. "It's because of you two brats that I put up with your Father's lies and abuse! Do you honestly think that I would stay with him if it were just me? I had to think of you and your sister, that's why I couldn't leave! But this is too much. You are a grown man now, Hae-in. You can look after yourself and your sister. Get out of my way or I'm calling the police!"

"Jisoo, please say something," my brother begs through his tears. "What are you being quiet for, Jisoo? Please!"

It seems like I've lost my tongue. I want to say something, anything to make my mother change her mind, but nothing comes out of my mouth.

"Let's get out of here. Quickly," Minho tells my mom. He reaches for her bags and helps her load them in his white SUV.

"How dare you, Minho?! You were like a brother to me!" Hae-in exclaims. "Mom, don't you love us anymore?"

Mom ignores my brother; instead, she looks me dead in the eye. "Love is poison. You know this very well, Jisoo. You have seen what it does, how cruel it can get. I know you understand."

My dad steps between me and Mom; he grabs her by the wrist. "Go back in the house this instant, Yoo-hwa! You will not abandon your children!"

Minho pulls out a revolver from his jetted pocket and, almost in an instant, shoots my dad twice right in the chest.

"DAD!" I scream as I sit up in bed. It was just a dream. Right?

Of course it was a dream, I chastise myself in my mind. It couldn't be real because Dad wasn't there when Mom left. It was just Hae-in and I.

The doorbell rings, startling me. I glance at the digital clock on my bedside table; the green light reads 1:44 am and it's raining heavily outside. Who could be visiting me at this hour? And in this weather?

I'm just about to start counting in my fingers the number of people who could possibly be at my door when the bell rings again three consecutive times. It must be urgent. Otherwise, whoever that is outside would've just sent me a text.

Still half-asleep, I rise from the bed and walk to my desk where my monitor rests. Thank goodness it's connected to my CCTV, so I can check who it may be.

My eyes widen at the person standing right outside my gate: Hae-in. He's gotten soaked to the skin in the pouring rain.

I immediately buzz him in. I grab a towel and run to the living room, getting the door for him.

"Hae-in? What the hell are you doing here?!" I demand as soon as we are face-to-face. I hang the white towel around his shoulders to help make him warm. I push the armchair right in front of the fireplace and let him sit. Luckily, I left the fire on before I'd gone to bed. "I'll make you coffee."

"Hang on, Jisoo," he says, stopping me by the wrist.

I kneel in front of him. "What's wrong?" I ask as I look up at him with worry.

"It's Jennie," he says, his teeth chattering.

"What? What about Jennie? Tell me, Hae-in."

"She's missing."

I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose, unable to believe what I've just heard. How can Jennie go missing? After the dinner party, Hae-in drove her and Mrs. Kim back to their house. "What do you mean? Didn't you make sure she and her mother would get home safely?"

"Mrs. Kim said she went out again at around 11 pm. She just walked out the door and didn't say a word. I tried to call her but she wouldn't pick up. Jisoo, I'm so sorry. I don't know where else to look."

"Have you reported this to the authorities?"

"I thought so, but Grandpa said we shouldn't yet. They don't want to alert the media, or they'll cause a fuss about the situation."

I take a deep breath and think really hard. Where could Jennie possibly be? 

I open my eyes and look straight into his. "Did she say anything on the way back to their house?" He shakes his head in response. "Hae-in, please think really hard. She must've said something."

"Jisoo, listen to me, she does not even want to talk to me. She put on a smile during the dinner party but the truth is she's upset about our engagement. She just remained silent all throughout the ride." He runs a hand through his hair, desperate for clues on his fiancée's whereabouts. 

I sigh, wanting some answers too. But just as I'm close to tears out of worry and desperation, Hae-in says, "Wait. I just remembered something."

"What? Tell me, Hae-in," I urge, my eyes wide.

"On the drive back to her house, someone called her. I can't remember the name. I think it was Wendy." Wendy? The woman she met in Thailand? "Anyway, she said something like, 'I need a breather. I need to press pause and get away from all of this mess, you know?'"

"She said pause?"

"I believe so, yes," my brother affirms.

I breathe a sigh of relief. I close my eyes again and nod. "I know exactly where she is."

"Where? Jisoo, please tell me."

I stand up straight and press my palm on his forehead. "Don't worry, brother. I will bring her back to you."

I go to my bedroom and snatch my phone from the bedside table. It's almost 2 am and Jinni must already be asleep. I hope she forgives me for waking her up. She's a good secretary, perhaps I can give her a raise or something.

"Hi, Jinni. Sorry to wake you," I say carefully as soon as she answers my call, making sure she does not miss a single word. "There's something I need you to do. I know it's late, I know the weather is bad... But please make sure it gets done. I don't care if it takes my family's fortune, just please make sure it gets done."