First Snow

Silence

Author notes: first of all, happy holiday season! I hope you enjoyed and keep enjoying some family time. I'm wishing you happiness and health above all.

Then, forgive me for the typos, I tried to proof read it several times but my eyes can't take it anymore 😅

Take care and stay safe my dears ❤️

***

Ri Jeong Hyeok had never driven that fast in his entire life. Slaloming between cars in the narrow streets of the city until he reached the expressways which led him out of Bern. The mad beating of his heart matched the swirling thoughts that kept spinning out of control in his mind.

He was overwhelmed by countless scenarios of what might be happening to Seri. Who were they? Cho Cheol Gang minions? Alberto's men? What did they want? Was she okay? Was she hurt? Was she afraid?

The knot in his stomach tightened even more, his foot pushing on the accelerator. The landscapes zoomed past him, in a blur of white, blue and green. He couldn't care less about the legendary beauty of Switzerland at that very moment. As soon as Kwang Beom had texted him the address, he had had nothing in mind but to reach the place and get Seri back safe and sound.

When he finally parked his car next to his men's, he jumped out of it, Kwang Beom meeting him with a concerned expression. He pointed his finger at a beautiful and authentic hotel facing the deep turquoise waters of lake Brienz, surrounded by white capped mountains.

"Her meeting with an investor was next to the city hall of Iseltwald. They took her to that hotel... I don't know which room..."

His mind was swirling with every option he had, not many, and with all the reasons those men could have taken her. He closed briefly his eyes, the pain of imagining her hurt or worse, harsh, unexpected.

He couldn't reach her fast enough, feeling restless with concern.

"Wait here."

Ju Meok and Kwang Beom starred at him incredulously.

"What? You can't go alone!" protested Kwang Beom.

"There are at least eight of them!"

"As long as we don't know what they want, I'm not taking any risk. You both stay here, if I don't come back within half an hour, you both go back to the embassy. If someone asks you where I am, you don't know anything."

They exchanged a worried glance.

"Captain..."

"It's an order."

Both stood straight, and reluctantly nodded their agreement. Ri Jeong Hyeok felt relieved, knowing how loyal his men were, he didn't want to drag them in troubles that could cost them more than they could imagine. They had families back in North Korea, and he would never put them in a situation where they would be endangered because of him.

He nodded back and turned away to walk to the hotel, where they had seen them take her. He made his way inside, looking around him, greeting back the receptionist and acting as if he had checked in already. The hotel wasn't as big and sophisticated as the one where Seri had been staying in Bern, it was more traditional and familial. No lift, just an old staircase covered with a thick red carpet. Everything smelled of authenticity and cleanliness, giving the whole a warm atmosphere that he would surely have appreciated in another context.

But at this precise moment, as he paced the corridor with a sense of déjà vu, straining his ears to catch anything that could lead him to her, he had only one thing in mind. Finding Seri.