One day in Seoul 🇰🇷

🇰🇷: 55

The drive to Daegu was only two hours on paper, but it felt like an eternity. Every second was thick with tension-my heart pounded with every kilometer we passed. The highway stretched out ahead of us, a never-ending road, while the weight of everything was pressing down on my chest.

John was behind the wheel, his knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel too tightly. Daniel was in the backseat, quiet as a ghost, lost in his own thoughts. I could feel the anxiety radiating off both of them, but no one said a word.

I couldn't focus. My thoughts kept bouncing from Nathan to Ace Driz, to Katarina and Sarang. Were they safe? Was Ace already on his way to them? I couldn't bear the idea of something happening to them. The guilt, the fear-it was suffocating.

It didn't help that the sky was beginning to darken, the sun setting slowly, casting long shadows across the road. Three days. Three days since Nathan disappeared. Time was running out.

When we finally arrived in Daegu, it didn't feel like a relief. If anything, stepping out of the car made the weight even heavier. The small city, usually familiar to me and Daniel, felt strangely foreign now. Daegu wasn't a huge city, but today, it felt like it was swallowing us whole. We parked near a small convenience store, the neon lights flickering above the entrance.

"Let's buy something to eat," I muttered, more to myself than to John or Daniel. Neither of them responded. Their minds were elsewhere, lost in their own personal hells.

They didn't even move.

With a sigh, I stepped out of the car and walked into the store. The smell of street food greeted me-spicy tteokbokki, hot soups, and skewers of grilled meat. My stomach growled, reminding me that we hadn't eaten in hours, but I had no appetite. Still, I ordered three servings of tteokbokki and kimbap, hoping it might at least give us the energy we'd need for whatever was coming next.

As I waited for the food, I couldn't help but scan the streets outside. The familiar Daegu landscape-a mix of old and new-usually felt comforting, but tonight it was unnerving. The bright lights of the nearby street stalls, the bustling markets, the smell of fresh soondae and eomuk wafting through the air-it all felt off.

This place was once familiar to me... but now? Now it felt like a trap.

I took the food, thanked the vendor, and stepped out of the store. John and Daniel were still sitting in the car, both staring off into space. I handed them the tteokbokki and kimbap, but neither of them touched it. They were too consumed by the stress, the fear. I couldn't blame them. Hell, I could barely eat either.

"Eat something," I urged them, pushing the food into their hands. "Kahit konti lang. We need to keep our strength up."

John picked up a piece of kimbap but just stared at it, lost in his own thoughts. Daniel wasn't doing any better. They were barely eating. And I? I couldn't sit still. My eyes kept darting around the streets, scanning every corner, every face. Where are you, Ace? I thought, clenching my fists.

The sun had nearly disappeared by now, and the streetlights flickered to life. Daegu. A city that used to feel alive with energy now seemed like a ghost town, at least to me. There were people walking around, but it was like we were in our own world, separate from them. We had been here so many times before-Daniel, Nathan and I had visited Daegu for different reasons, for business and for fun, enjoying the city's famous food markets and festivals. But tonight... tonight felt different. Daegu wasn't the same.

The streets, once lively and filled with chatter, now felt oppressive. The smell of jjimdak and samgyeopsal from nearby restaurants no longer made me hungry. It only made me more anxious, more aware of the ticking clock. Three days. Three days since Nathan had disappeared, and we were no closer to finding him.