There are Many Flowers in Seoul

Chapter Forty-Two

Without an apartment address to give the driver, she tried to explain the rough location of the studio. There was a small chance that some of the staff had made it to the offices that morning rather than staying home. If Yuta had been consulted on what to do, he wouldn't have allowed anyone to endanger themselves for the sake of work and would have told them to make up the hours another time.

Oh, Yuta.

Rose hadn't managed to call him the previous night to let him know what had happened to her, and her phone was still in Tae-won's kitchen. She had no idea if it was even working after it was soaked through from the rain and supposed she ought to see about buying a replacement so that she could keep in touch with the people who mattered to her; namely Yuta, Hitomi and her parents back in Tokyo. No matter how much she told herself that it wasn't a big deal that she was gone for one night, she knew he would've panicked when she didn't return to the apartment. If Si-woo had told him that he'd left her at the palace then they might have looked there or called the police. Rose dreaded to think the trouble she'd caused by going missing for the night.

Her trainers slapped the ground noisily as she jogged toward the studio. The lights were on in the lobby and she pushed against the door, her stomach fluttering with relieved butterflies when it yielded and opened for her. Rose slipped inside, taking care with each step not to slip over on the sleek floor. The reception desk was vacant but soft music drifted from a digital radio which had been left unattended on the desk.

Clearing her throat softly, Rose called out in a timid voice, 'Hello? Is anyone here?'

The door to the rear office opened and the receptionist Rose had met on her first day came through. The woman dropped her file in shock at the sight of the bedraggled girl. 'Miss Abe? Are you hurt?'

Rose brought a hand up and wiped her eyes with the back of it, grateful that she wasn't in the habit of wearing makeup because it never would have withstood the weather. The rain had concealed her tears and she'd calmed herself down in the cab, but her eyes were red and sore, and Rose wanted nothing more than to dry off and crawl into bed for the next couple of days. 'I'm not hurt,' she said. Not physically, anyway. It wasn't worth mentioning that she felt as though Tae-won had torn her heart from her chest and crushed it with his bare hands. 'Is Yuta here?'

'No, he's working from the apartment today. Only a few people came in.'

'Oh...'

'Should I call him?' the receptionist asked. 'Ah, Ms. Nam is here. I'll find her for you.'

The woman was gone before Rose could stop her. It had surprised her that the woman hadn't asked where she'd been, just if she was hurt. There was no indication that her disappearance had stirred the staff into a panic, nor that the police had been called to the offices to take statements so that they could trace her movements or find out Tae-won's address if he'd become a person of interest in the case. Not that there was a case. In fact, it was obvious that no one had tried that hard to find her at all. Rose knew Tae-won didn't think much of her, but she thought Yuta and Hitomi might be a little worried.

Rose didn't sit down to wait; she was too afraid of leaving watermarks on the furniture. Instead, she lingered near the door, trying to keep the puddles to a minimum. Heels clicked against the stairs and approached rapidly, and soon Eun-young raced into the lobby. She seemed about to hug Rose when she noticed what a state she was in. Contemplating whether it was worth getting her clothes wet, she asked, 'Why are you here when the weather's like this? There's no modelling work today.'

'Sorry,' Rose apologised, feeling that she'd imposed by arriving at a building that she technically owned. 'My phone died and I can't remember the building address to get home, so...'