Letters from the Void // ASTRO ✔

Chapter 34

"I'm really fine, oppa. You can't keep on missing work; you've been at home for more than one week. So far, nothing has happened to me. So don't worry." Taehee had spent her morning trying to convince her brother that she was doing just fine. It took her countless efforts to make her brother leave, and she had to deal with her brother reminding her a lot of times to always keep her commander close. She promised she would answer her commander straight away if he called. She felt the apartment was too stuffy after spending more than one week holed up there, so she asked permission from her brother to go out.

Her brother was reluctant at first, but Areum called in and told him not to worry, as she would keep an eye on her. Taehyung kept on reminding here and there, and she almost pushed him out of the apartment to ask him to go to work. She bid him goodbye with a smile, and was glad that she was finally able to go out. She got dressed in the simplest way possible, brought her commander and slipped her purse in a small sling bag. Satisfied, she stepped out of the apartment. The apartment was above ground, so she waved the card over the panel beside the lift before pressing the 'ground floor' button.

No one told him, but she had heard her brother's conversation with Moon Bin. Cha Eunwoo had left the hospital without telling anyone, and nobody could reach him for more than one week. Rocky, her childhood friend, was killed in front of Eunwoo, so she sensed that Eunwoo's disappearance had to do with that. Her mind was a mess, and she wished she could start all over again. She knew that everything started going wrong when she appeared at the restaurant.

It was her fault.

The lift opened to the ground floor, and she stepped out with a bunch of other people. The other occupants were busy commuting to their workplace, but Taehee was focused on getting to the restaurant. It was painful, going to the place where it all started, but she knew that she needed to say goodbye properly. She doubted she would continue working there, and though it was not told to her directly, she knew there were already plans on closing down the restaurant if Cha Eunwoo would not turn up. They could not possibly operate without enough workers, and their own boss who went missing in action, could they?

She smiled at a middle-aged lady who came in through the entrance, bringing a bag of groceries and listening to the news read out by the android beside her. She bowed a little; she let them pass before continuing to step out of the apartment. She needed to walk further to reach the restaurant, a few blocks away and a few roads crossed. As she waited for the light to turn green, she looked around to observe the people around her. She breathed in the fresh air; being trapped in the apartment for more than one week was suffocating.

Her eyes caught two familiar faces, and realized that Jin Jin was walking alongside Sanha towards her direction. She didn't have to catch their attention as Sanha was already running towards her, shouting her name, and when he arrived next to her, linked arms with her. Jin Jin coolly walked towards them, but he was no longer the cold person she once thought he was. He gave her a warm smile and greeted her good morning as soon as he joined them.

Everyone might've thought that they're just happy people going on with their lives; little do they know that the three of them were pretending to put a smile on their faces while still being stuck to the past. They couldn't move on from Rocky, MJ and Eunwoo. Three people with such chemistry but broken apart by a deep desire for revenge.

"Noona, you're going to the restaurant, right?" Sanha was still linking arms with her, and she didn't do anything to wriggle free of it.

She smiled, "Yes."

"Your brother reminded us countless times to keep an eye on you. He's really worried about you."

"Ah, I'm sorry to be a burden to all of you."