Solving The Puzzle ➵ Mingyu

8. The Next Piece

Namyangju Residence, Seoul, 9.41 AM

"Hi!" Taerin exclaimed after Mingyu opened his door. "Hey," he wrapped her into his arms. "Shall we get going?" Mingyu asked her. "Sure!" she replied. "Why are you so cheerful today?" he looked confused. "It reminds me of.. the old you," he then smiled.

"The old me? Hey, I'm still Taerin! And I haven't changed!" she said. "You have actually," Mingyu replied, "You don't have any boyfriend anymore.."

Taerin frozed. Mingyu, why did you bring that up, it's gonna be so awkward.

"I have, acutally.." Taerin smirked, she could see Mingyu's smile slowly faded away. "W-who?" "That's a secret. Now c'mon, we better get going," she held his arm and oulled him outside. Poor Mingyu.

"Soo, where's our next destination?" Taerin asked."It's Hagi's old school." Mingyu quickly replied. She could tell he was upset. And it was fun seeing him like this.

"Mingyu.." Taerin called, "I don't have any boyfriend.. silly," she could literally see Mingyu's face lit up,

"Y-you don't?" he asked.

"And I can tell you were upset. Perhaps.. jealous?" he chuckled, "What? Why would I be jealous?" he chuckled. "I don't know, you tell me," she giggled. Mingyu rolled his eyes but laughed afterwards.

"We're here," they stepped out of the car. "What are you planning to do?" Taerin asked. "Well, we can find her best friend here.." Mingyu replied.

Here? Seriously? she thought.

"You sure?" Taerin faced the floor. "Maybe, there's only one way to find out," he took a deep breath and entered the school.

--

Pyeongae High School, Namyangju, 10.12 AM

"Do you visit her school often?" she asked as the walked along the corridor."Yup, I used to pick her up here, when she was still.." Mingyu sighed, "alive,"

Taerin felt bitter seeing Mingyu being like that. "It's okay, we will find something here. Don't be sad," she said while patting his back. Mingyu slowly smiled, She's back being herself.

"We're here," they stopped at a class, "Is this her class?" Taerin asked eventhough she already knew. "Yes, it is. Let's start searching," Mingyu replied while slowly opening the classroom's door.

When they were about to enter the class, a woman in her mid 30s approached them, "What are you doing here?"

"Seonsaengnim, good morning.." Mingyu bowed, followed by Taerin."Oh,hey! You're Hagi's boyfriend, am I right?" she asked, and Mingyu nodded, "Yes,I am. We're here to ask you a few questions,"

"Go on," the teacher said.

"Do you know a few of Hagi's friends?" he asked."Yes.. yes I do. But they graduated already and I'm sorry I don't know where they are now.." she replied.

"Ah,okay.. Do you have-" Mingyu was cut by the teacher."Hey, I think I know you?" she pointed at Taerin. She gulped, "Uh, I don't think we met.. sorry,"

"Taerin, have you been here before?" Mingyu lifted one eyebrow. He felt suspicious about her.

"Uh.. no..no, I haven't, I swear," she lied. "You sure?" he asked and Taerin nodded quickly.

"Anyways, do you have their contact? or maybe their phone number?" Mingyu asked. The teacher nodded, "Sure, wait here," she said and left to her office. Not too long after, she's back with a big book in her hand. "Here, you can take a look,"

"Thank you!" Mingyu said as he started to flip through pages."But, why don't you ask Hagi herself?" asked the teacher. Both of them frozed, not knowing what to say. How to say to be exact.

"Uh.. she uh.." Taerin tried to find the right words. "She became an angel," Mingyu smiled. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry.." the teacher apologized. "She must become a very beautiful angel," Mingyu nodded.

He was so cheesy, Taerin thought. He never changed since middle school.

"Taerin, look at this," Mingyu said while pointing at a picture of Hagi with some of her friends. "They must be Hagi's best friends," Taerin said. "Yup, maybe one of them is the one that Hagi mean," MIngyu guessed before the continued searching again.

"Hagi.. she was a really nice student," the teacher suddenly said which made them stop what they were doing. "She had many friends.. and was a cheerful girl,"

Taerin couldn't help but to cry in silent. She does miss the time she spent with her best friend. In fact, Hagi spent more time with her than with Mingyu."What's wrong?" Mingyu noticed her crying. "Nothing, I'll go to the toilet," she got up from her seat and left.

Taerin sat down on one of the empty chairs in the music room where nobody was present. It was quiet, and just the perfect place for her.

On the other hand, Mingyu was still diligently flipping trough the pages. He promies himself not to give up until he finds Hagi's profile, which he did. "Let's see if I can find something here," he mumbled to himself. "Age, birthplace,birthdate,what you like about this school," Mingyu stopped as he searched through her reasons.

It's written 'I like everything about this school, the music room is cold, the chemistry teacher is kind, the canteen is large. But, it's not perfect because my best friend studies at a different school' he stopped, "What? so we're here for nothing?" he quickly closed the book and searched for Taerin.

--

While walking around the corridor to find Taerin, he noticed that the music room's door was open. So without any doubt, Mingyu is sure that Taerin was there. He opened the door to the music room, revealing Taerin who was burrying her head in her arms, while sobbing quietly.

"A-are you okay?" Mingyu spoke softly. Taerin lifted her heads, "Oh,hey! I was just waiting for you, uh.. I'm fine," she replied while wiping tears on her cheek. Mingyu took a seat next to her, "I have some bad news actually,"

"What is it?"

"Hagi's best friend is not here. She's in a different school," Mingyu explained. "Really?" Taerin asked, pretending not to know. Mingyu nodded, "Let's go somewhere else. C'mon," he held her wrist and went back to their car.

--

Inside the car, Taerin wasn't talking much and at that point, Mingyu senses something wrong. Are you sure you're okay? You seem down," Mingyu asked worriedly.

"Yeah,yeah.. I'm fine.. just.. tired.." she sighed. "Do you want to go back?" he asked. "Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah, besides, I also need to rest," he answered. Finally, they returned to Mingyu's apartment.