**Mina’s having trouble focusing on her task the whole afternoon. And it’s about Chaeyoung being out the whole day and not sending her a message of her whereabouts. She doesn’t have a problem with her roaming around the town without her, it’s just, today seemed to be a different day.**
**She couldn’t explain it, but the worries keep on getting worst, and the oddness of the day never stopped. Well, her distress deepens after the sun finally sets. Where is she? She asked again a millionth times.**
**Then out of the blue, Mina grabbed her sister’s wrist when she passed by in front of her after the latter served one of their guests with a plate of risotto.**
**It startled Ryujin that she almost jumped from it. She turned to Mina and stared at her intently. There’s something wrong, that’s what Mina’s gaze is telling her.**
Ryujin: What’s going on?
**Mina blinked twice, still thinking of the right words to describe what she’s feeling right now. Is it okay to just say, I’m worried ‘cause Chaeng hasn’t come back yet? Will it sound like she’s overreacting or something? Will Ryujin even find it a bit funny that she’s now being consumed by the author’s presence? But the thought of Chaeng being gone for the past eight or so hours is much important than her ego. So she blurted out the thing that’s been bugging her since this afternoon.**
Mina: She’s still out, and I’m worried.
**Ryujin didn’t answer. She has no idea why her sister’s having this odd feeling about the author being out.**
Mina: I have this bad feeling. As an instinct, you know. They say a woman’s instinct shouldn’t be ignored, and I’m afraid that I’ll let it pass. What if… what if something happened to her that’s why she hasn’t returned yet?
**Ryujin nodded and gave her full attention to her sister. It’s clear that Mina’s worried and that’s undeniable ‘cause her voice is shaking as if her speculation has already been proven.**
Ryujin: Do you… do you have her number?
**Mina loosen her grip on her sister’s wrist and looked down before she shook her head. Unfortunately, they hadn’t exchanged numbers yet.**
Ryujin: Oh… maybe that’s the reason she hasn’t contacted us. It’s because she doesn’t have any number to call or something?
**It was a mere question rather than a statement. But Ryujin knows that what she had said has no sense at all. The author never goes out for that long. She’d been here for almost a week now, and she kind of memorize already her daily routine. She drives to the town once in a while but comes back after an hour or two. Well, the longest time she went out was four hours, and that was on her first day.**
**“It’s tiring to walk under the sun,” as she always says whenever Ryujin brings her something to eat or drink.**
Ryujin: Oh… wait… I guess she put her number when she checked in. Give me a second, I’ll look for it and then let’s call her.
**Mina suddenly finds hope. Hope that she’ll finally get a chance to talk to her and ask where she is.**
**She walked behind Ryujin, clenching her fists on her side. Fighting every inch of nervousness creeping out in her body. Stop overthinking, Mina. Please, stop! She nagged herself.**
Ryujin: Hmm… let me see.
**She opened the checked-in file on the reception’s computer and went straight to the date when Chaeng checked in.**
Ryujin: Here it is. It’s named after her best friend, Chou Tzuyu. Oh, shit! I forgot to get her number. I’m sorry. I only added her name under her friend’s name. Should we… should we call her friend and ask for her contact number?
**Mina closed her eyes for a second. If they’ll call her best friend, she might have the impression that Chaeng is missing or something bad happened to her. They’re not sure about that thing yet. Everything she has right now is pure intuition.**
Mina: Why… why don’t we get her number, but let’s not jump on calling her yet. I might be wrong with what I’m thinking, you know. Let's just call her after an hour.
**Well, she’s praying and hoping that everything she’s thinking right now is wrong.**
Ryujin: All right.
**Then she pulled a sticky note beside the telephone line and wrote Tzuyu’s number on it. It will be very handy in case their one-hour time is already up.**
Ryujin: Why don’t you keep it?
**Mina stared at the number written on the sticky note for a few seconds before she pulled it in Ryujin’s hand. She wants to call the number instantly, but she remembered that it might only create panic both in her and the person behind the number written on it.**
Mina: All right.
*****
Bam: Are you… are you hungry?
**Well, even if Chaeng’s hungry, she doesn’t think she even has the appetite to eat at this moment. All she could feel right now is her heart's hammering violently. And she’s praying so hard that someone will notice that she’s missing.**
Bam: Stop fucking staring at me!
**Bam’s temper abruptly changed from being so calm and emotionless to an angry beast. He’s now yelling and on the verge of dashing towards her.**
**Chaeng shrank from her seat, hiding her face on her left shoulder. Her body’s trembling since the moment Bam showed up on the door, and it had never stopped since then.**
**Her eyes were shut and her head was still leaning on her left shoulder. She wants to say something. She wants to answer him, but she’s so absorbed by the tension crawling all over her. Maybe it’s better if the tape in her mouth wasn’t removed. At least she has a defense as to why she can’t speak to him the way he wanted to.**
**Then she heard the floor squeaked. Bam might have sat back on the chair he placed in front of her.**
Bam: It’s no fun playing with you, you know. You aren’t talking. If I ask you a question, can you at least answer me? I don’t care if it’s monosyllabic. All I want is to feel like I’m talking to someone, and not just talking to myself.
**He’s now using his sweet voice. No trace of him screaming earlier.**
Bam: Why don’t you… why don’t you look at me?
**Without thinking twice, Chaeng pulled herself together and gazed at him. She’s scared that Bam’s mood will change again.**
Bam: Great! That’s better.
**Then he leaned forward, yet still sitting on his seat, and legs still crossed together.**
Bam: So… are you hungry? ‘Cause honestly, I am. What do you like to eat?
Chaeng: Are you… are you going to kill me?
**Was the premise that came out from her mouth rather than answering his question. That made Bam stayed still for a second. Is he thinking about it? Killing her? Or what exactly is his plan for taking her to that place and tying her on her seat?**
**Bam sighed impatiently, and then rested his back at the back of his seat.**
Bam: Am going to kill you? Isn’t the answer to your question too obvious? That it doesn’t need to be answered after all? I mean, if I’m in your shoes, I’d already thought that I’ll die tonight, you know.
**Chaeng nodded. He’s right. The answer is already obvious. Why do I even need to ask about it? She thought. And from that moment, Chaeng finally accepted the idea that she’ll lose her life tonight. That there’s no chance for her to escape from this monster in front of her.**
Bam: But I won’t do that sooner. What’s the fun of this little game if you’ll die in a snap?
**He cracked up and that sends more shiver in Chaeng’s skin.**
Bam: Besides, I haven’t told you a little secret yet. This is something you won’t expect, you know. So better save your life a little longer for this little secret that I have for you.
*****
Sana: Mina?
**Sana bolted at the entrance of the café as if she saw a monster on her way. She’s panting so hard and her sweats are all over her face.**
Mina: Hey! Are you all right?
Sana: No. I’m not.
**She answered straight away, and Mina’s bewildered as to why she’s here with that kind of state.**
Mina: What happened?
**Sana entered at the counter and grabbed Mina on her arms so she could murmur in her ears.**
Sana: Is Bam here?
Mina: Bam? No. He’s not.
**She whispered back. Why is she asking about Bam? She thought.**
**Sana immediately stepped backward, relieved that Bam wasn’t around. At least she no longer needs to hide what she just found out.**
Sana: Good!
Mina: Why? What about him?
Sana: He’s crazy, insane, or whatever you want to call it. Maybe… maybe a psychopath is a better word to describe him.
Mina: What?
**Mina couldn’t believe what she’s hearing from her best friend. Well, she’s too occupied by the fact that her lover hasn’t returned yet. And this thing about Bam is the last thing she would want to hear. It’s none of her business, anyway. She thought.**
Sana: Well, remember Nayeon? She’s two years ahead of us in high school. The girl from the pep squad, do you remember her?
**Mina’s brain isn’t functioning well at this moment. But she tried her best to remember who that Nayeon is.**
Mina: Oh… yeah. Why?
Sana: The thing is, we bumped into each other earlier when I was having my late afternoon meeting and she mentioned to me that she just found out that Bam already came back. And when she asked me if I knew about it, I told her that I even had breakfast with him the other day.
**Mina was staring at her, waiting for the climax of her story. She couldn’t find anything strange yet that will point out the insanity of her childhood friend. Well, it’s not that she’s not believing her best friend. She knows Sana won’t bother to drive here if her story has nothing to back it up.**
Sana: And she was rather shocked than happy to hear that we spent breakfast with him. She said that Bam was one of her sister’s patients in the hospital she’s working with. By the way, her sister’s a psychiatrist, but she didn’t disclose what diagnosis Bam has. I guess, if she’ll break it to us, it means breaking the medical field codes, too. So, I kind of understand about that. But the fact that he’s seeking help from a professional, well, you know what I mean. It means it's a bit serious, right?
**Mina thought for a second. Thinking about what’s going on. How could Bam travel from Canada if he has something serious in him? Doesn’t his family know about his condition?**
Mina: I couldn’t understand a thing. I mean, if something serious is going on within him, shouldn’t his family know about it? And do you think they’ll approve his travel or something?
Sana: You’re on point. But what if he lied to his family about him flying here?
Mina: Okay, let’s say you’re right… that… that he lied to his family. What do you think is his business here? Do you think he’s here to do something bad to anyone? Well, he looks so fine to me.
**Then something odd happened to Mina. It’s as if someone had tapped her on her shoulder and brought a clearer view of what’s going on around her. Chaeng was missing for almost nine hours now, and Bam isn’t at the café yet for his dinner, and Sana telling this creepy story about their childhood friend.**
**Her eyes widened, flustered at the possibility that Bam is involved in Chaeng’s disappearance.**
Sana: Are you… are you all right?
**Sana instantaneously felt nervous at the sight of her best friend’s petrified state.**
Sana: What… what’s going on? Do you remember something?
**It took Mina a moment before she came back to her senses. Indeed, she needs to get a grip of herself or else seeing the author again will be the most impossible thing now.**
Mina: I’m… I’m missing one of my guests… and…
**She’s breathing heavily between each pause. She’s not stuttering, but thinking so hard on how to express her thoughts makes the gap between words seems so long.**
Mina: and it so happened that… that we’re starting to go out.
**The horror on her face heightened and even Sana got flustered at the thought that maybe… maybe Bam has something to do with it.**
Finally thank goodness sana arrives at the sisters restaurant were mina and ryujim worked and sana was right about bam he is psychopat and everything my creepyness starts circulating and still getting goosbumps in for the next story...
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