Letters from the Void // ASTRO ✔

Chapter 41

"We need help."

Without any proper greetings, the first thing Moon Bin said as he sat down across Areum and Jin Jin was that they needed help. Taehyung and Sanha trudged wordlessly behind him, letting him explain everything about Taehee. Areum avoided looking at Taehyung directly, as their relationship seemed to set off at a rocky start. She felt that even though they could be considered as being 'officially' together, Taehyung was too worried about his sister that they didn't have time to spend together. Areum wanted to resent him, but she knew he was only doing his job as a big brother.

The five of them sat huddled at the patio of a café, admiring the view while nestled under an umbrella. Jin Jin and Areum were the only one who ordered drinks as they waited for the rest to come. The three of them- Moon Bin, Taehyung and Sanha only went straight to the patio without stopping to order any drinks. Their faces were tight; it was no time to be happy over this seemingly dull reunion. They decided this café would be the perfect place to have a meeting, instead of stopping by at the restaurant like they usually did. The restaurant held bad memories for every single one of them.

"So you're saying that this Jinhong guy might be involved with Taehee's disappearance?" Jin Jin enquired.

Moon Bin nodded as he looked at the two of them earnestly. "We need both of you to go there and observe the place there. If Taehyung and I went there, it would be suspicious and they would realize we're onto them. Both of you need to act natural-" Moon Bin eyed Taehyung, "-that both of you are a couple who wants to buy an ID chip. Don't worry; you won't have to actually purchase it. Pretend you're shocked that the price is so high and that you can't afford it. Use your time there to look around for anything out of place. And have a lookout for his daughter. She might hold some clues."

"Did you track the ID chip?"

"I did, and it pinpointed to the warehouse, where he does all his dirty business."

"So what we're assuming happened was: Lee Jinah controlled Taehee using her mother's ID chip to warn us about something, and her father found out about it. He got mad and kidnapped Taehee, stashing her away in his warehouse?" Areum laid it out.

"Something must have happened to her mother," Sanha added.

"Do you think... he's a killer?" Jin Jin suddenly spoke.

The air was still as each of them held their breaths.

"It's a possible scenario," Moon Bin finally replied.

"But don't you think it would be so obvious if he kept Taehee there? He must've known it would be easy to track her down."

"That's why we need to find out."

***

His short rendezvous had brought him back to Korea and without realizing, he found himself standing in front of his restaurant, which was closed and vacant. There were no sign of his friends anywhere, but as he stepped into the main area, he looked at the area where Rocky laid down, letting out his last breath. He never visited the restaurant again, only once to leave the note. If he could, he didn't want to relive the memories this way. But somehow, he couldn't help but to bring himself to the restaurant which once became a happy sanctuary for all of them.

Maybe, slightly, he was actually hoping he would bump into Choi Haeun- or known as Kim Taehee now, there. He wanted to go into the restaurant and run into a beaming Taehee, pulling her into his embrace and wanting to start over again. First love. It seemed like a funny idea, but did fate bring them together again? After he moved away he found her again, albeit calling her under a different name and falling for her in the short period of time.