What Happened to Somi?

Chapter 04

Blue Ocean Entertainment was on fire.

Phones rang in every office and the public relations team was stretched thin. There were millions of emails and messages, each person wanting update on Somi and her manager; Ji-Eun. Outside the label's ten storey structure were S'mores and some members of the general public, protesting peacefully. Each one wanted to know what was going on and why the label couldn't give them the answers they were searching for.

In his office, CEO Moon Shin was a mess. His hair could be likened to a bird's nest, there were dark circles under his eyes and his suit was the same one he had been on for the past three days. Like everyone else, he was confused and scared. He never envisioned the situation and even if he did, he never envisioned it happening to Somi and her manager who are two of the best women he had come across.

He always took pride in knowing so much about his stars and employees but he now knew – all thanks to the information from Taehyung – that he didn't know them as well as he thought. He had seen Somi that night and she was all smiles, her face flawless. He should have known it was make-up. He should have noticed something was off that night. He claimed to know her really well so he should have noticed.

The year began on a good note for the label because of Somi and it was painfully ironic how it was ending on an uncertain note because of her too. The unpredictability of it all scared him and all he wanted was for someone to call and say that they had spotted her. If he had to go to where she was and carry her in his arms back to Seoul or to anywhere she wanted to go, he'd do so. He just wanted her back safe. He just wanted to know that she was okay.

He raised his head at the knock on the door and it took a moment for his secretary to walk him. She wasn't looking any better than him and that earned him a stab of guilt. He told himself that he should have been a better leader. They wouldn't be in the mess if he was.

She stopped on the other side of the desk and smiled tightly, her hands put together in front of her. "The leader of Somi's PR team wants to know if you have any statement you'd like to make to the public. The team has been burned out so they don't know what else to say. If we tell the public that we're still waiting for updates on the case, it won't sit well with them. They already think we aren't doing anything as we speak."

CEO Moon wanted to lie; to say that he had a statement. However, he didn't have one and it made him feel even worse. He tried to smile back at her but it was useless. Faking a smile took too much of the little strength he had left.

"I really want to give you and everyone else good news, Ms Han." He told her. He shook his head, feeling the urge to cry. "But I don't have any. We can't tell them anything else for now. We're still waiting and we have people on our end also looking for her and Ji-Eun. Until we get more information, we can't say anything else. Our hands are tied here. We don't have much we can do."

She understood although it didn't make her feel better. She nodded, still smiling at him. "I'll get back to the team. I think we should hold on for now, until we get more information at least."

He nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome...Please don't beat yourself up, CEO Moon. None of us saw this coming."

He begged to differ. "If I was a better leader, I would have known that something was wrong that night. I would have been able to do something and Somi would be here today or on a vacation that we know of because she has worked hard. Ji-Eun would be enjoying herself as well."

She didn't know what to say in reply so she kept her mouth shut. A minute passed in silence before she bowed respectfully and walked out, leaving him alone in the wide office with his thoughts being louder than anything else.