Paper Dolls

Chapter 30

Hyeon drives leisurely like he knows exactly where we are headed but I don't see Loona's bright red convertible anywhere. And that car is pretty hard to miss. 

"Did Loona leave much earlier? How do you know where she's going?" I ask Hyeon who's gaze is fixed on the road ahead. 

"Not long before you. And I placed a tracker I bought online under her car. Don't worry I made sure no cameras or staff caught me doing so."

My eyes widen and he laughs. The evening sun highlights his high cheekbones and I notice the dark circles under his deep set eyes.

I wonder how many of those sleepless nights were spent on Dalia and try not to think too much about it. My stomach is still churning from all the alcohol I consumed today and the car ride is beginning to make me feel dizzy. 

Thankfully, we don't go very far. Hyeon turns off at the exit to a small town called Damyang and we drive past numerous housing estates before reaching a dingy looking row of shops. 

"It says she stopped somewhere around here," Hyeon murmurs as we look around for her red car. 

I don't spot any striking coloured vehicles, only dull ones parked haphazardly along the asphalt concrete. 

"That's weird. The tracker says she stopped here." Hyeon pulls over into a parking spot and immediately sifts through his phone. 

I sit forward and look at the decrepit looking shop lots in front of us. I doubt Loona would ever be seen in a place like this.

All the signboards are old and weathered. The cement walkway chipped at its corners. The cars parked here all look like they have been left here to decay. All except one. 

A sleek black Maserati Alfieri would probably blend in with the other grey/black coloured cars flanked on either side of it, if no one was looking. But it is too shiny, too new. My father had always been a car enthusiast and even though it is parked halfway through a garage shop, I can still tell the model by looking at its rear end.

"I don't think it's working." Hyeon taps on his phone screen and then knocks it with his knuckles as if that would show where Loona is. 

My eyes are still fixed on the Maserati, sticking out to me like a sore thumb. 

"Don't you feel that looks odd here." I point to the car.

Hyeon looks it over and then returns his attention to his phone screen. "Looks like any other car around here." 

My spine straightens and I look him over in disbelief. "You can't tell that that's a Maserati? And that the others all just regular sedans?" 

Hyeon's eye brows raise but he doesn't seem to get what I'm hinting at.

"I think we should take a walk. Scout the place." I say determinedly and unbuckle my seatbelt. 

"But she might not be here," Hyeon protests but I'm already out of the car, walking up the steps to the rows of shops. 

The air is cold today but Hyeon reaches me quickly and his shoulder brush against mine, his proximity providing some warmth. 

We walk past and peer into the empty garage with the Maserati. It's evening now and there's no one working, the car sits idly in the workshop. If this were Hadong, there would be a sea of people already gathered around it taking pictures, my father front and centre. 

He's always loved cars even though he used tractors most of his life. 

"What a beauty," Hyeon murmurs, finally getting a good look at the car.