I take a few deep breathes before I walk up into his doorstep.
I stand in front of Yoongi's house once again, the doorbell echoing unanswered. I knock again, more insistently, but still, there is no response. The silence only heightened my anxiety.
Then it hits me.
The other night, when Hwayoung was coming down the stairs... she asked him–
No, can it be?
My hands tremble slightly as I pulled out my phone and immediately find his contact. I listen to the rings, each one amplifying my desperation. Finally, it went to voicemail.
I take a deep breath, closing my eyes, trying to steady myself, and leave a message.
"Hey Yoongi, it's Baek. I'm outside your place, I need to talk to you. Please call me back when you get this."
Hoping it isn't what I think it is and determined to talk to him, I decide to head to his office. The drive felt interminable, each red light an added layer of frustration. When I finally arrived, I hurried to the top floor, where I know his office is. I reach his assistant's desk, she's a middle aged lady, always very polite and nice. She looks up at me, smiling brightly.
"Ms. Baek! What a pleasure to see you around here, I heard about your accident, are you feeling better?" She looks down at my arm, as she removes her glasses, genuinely concerned.
"Yes, much better, thank you Mrs. Hwang," I give her a soft smile. "How is your grandson? Is he 4 now?" I ask her.
"He is, and he is well thank you for asking about him, Ms. Baek. How may I help you today?"
"Is Mr. Min in? I need to talk to him." I ask, trying to keep my voice calm and casual, despite I'm totally the opposite. I look at his office from here and seems like someone's there.
Yoongi.
"Oh I'm sorry, Ms Baek, but Mr. Min left yesterday morning, he mentioned he will be taking some time off. And there's already another architect covering for him and his projects." And just as she explains, a middle aged man leaves what used to be his office. My heart sank. I felt a pang of disappointment and worry. I'm using every strength in me to try to hold back the tears.
"He might not be back? Why would someone else take over his projects?"
"Well his father, Mr. Min wasn't happy about him leaving in the middle of a project he's leading so–"
"I see. Did he mention where he was going?"
She shakes her head. "He took the family's jet. Is this about a project? I can always call another architect to–"
"No, that's okay. Thank you, Mrs. Hwang. I just had a question about a business proposal we offered, it's okay, my attorneys can handle it." I force a smile. "Have a good day." She looks at me with concern, I turn away, not wanting to arouse suspicion by asking more questions.
My mind raced as I walked out of the building, trying to piece together what I just found out.
In the quiet of my car, I let out a shaky breath.
Yoongi is gone.
The realization hit me like a tidal wave, and I can't shake the thought that he might have left with Hwayoung. Most likely. The thought of them together, away from everything, sent a fresh wave of pain through my chest.
I leaned my back in my seat, staring at my phone, hoping against hope that Yoongi would call me back.
I can't bear the idea of him being so far away, especially now...
But maybe this is for the best. This is what I wanted. He deserves better.
🪐🌧🌫
Thank you for reading!
