To Find Something True

※ fifty-four

"Where the hell is that idiot?" Seokjin grumbled, one hand holding an umbrella while the other gripped his phone. Using data roaming, he tried to call Yoongi's number, but instead, a female operator's voice answered, forcing him to hang up and redial. He was loosely clad in a transparent, plastic raincoat without the hood on his head.

Wearing the same attire, but without an umbrella, Jiah and Amber were also present.

Amber was aware that Seokjin had told Jiah about the news, and Jiah received the information properly. Seokjin had shared the news with her privately, and Amber allowed it. However, he reminded Jiah not to tell Hoseok yet.

Jiah did not anticipate that it was going to be news of a death. She had hoped for something better, such as an illness that could be cured, or Jiwoo choosing not to return to South Korea for overwhelming reasons.

According to Amber's cousin, Jiwoo passed away in an accident. The car she was riding crashed into a restaurant. She wasn't the driver, but she died due to excessive blood loss on the way to the hospital. The accident involved two other Koreans and an American man. The American man and one Korean man were still alive, while another Korean woman, possibly someone Jiwoo knew, died at the scene; she was the driver.

Adding further details, Jiwoo was a victim of human trafficking and prostitution. Soohyuk was involved in this crime and would be charged with scamming and prostitution. It was possible that the driver was also a victim who helped Jiwoo escape.

Jiah felt like she had heard something similar before but couldn't recall the specifics.

She was fine with keeping secrets, but the idea of facing Hoseok without showing her pain upon receiving the news seemed dramatic. However, her pain might not be as severe as Hoseok's when he received the news.

They searched for Yoongi in various buildings of Marina Bay Sands, but he was nowhere to be found. They decided to walk farther from Marina Bay Sands, searching for him in open places. They tried the Helix Bridge and Bayfront Bridge, but there was no sign of a man with curly, crimped hair in his favorite denim jacket. It seemed unlikely that he had gone too far, considering their tourist driver was waiting outside the hotel when they left.

They agreed to continue searching while staying together, and Amber suggested looking for him in a park.

As they walked to the park, the heavy rain slowly drizzled down. However, a strong gust of wind almost broke Seokjin's umbrella, causing Jiah's hood to be blown back. Amber walked with a hand on her plastic hood, squinting her eyes against the wind.

Despite the loud wind, Amber managed to call out, "Seokjin-ah, isn't that Yoongi?"

Hearing this, Jiah turned around with difficulty to see where Amber was pointing. She held her plastic hoodie on her head, and through the gusts of wind carrying dead leaves, she saw a man in a navy denim jacket and a black T-shirt kneeling with his head hanging down. His once bouncy and crimped hair now sagged, partially covering his eyes and dripping with water.

"That's him!" Seokjin confirmed.

Amber ran to him and stepped down two steps of stairs, shouting, her tone sounding like she was scolding, "Min Yoongi!" But Yoongi remained unmoved. As they got closer, Amber smacked his back and said, "What's wrong with you? Jiwoo won't be happy to see you like this."

Yoongi's eyes stared weakly downward, still not moving. A long silence followed.

Amber whimpered, placing a palm on one of Yoongi's shoulders and slowly kneeling in front of him. "Don't be like this, Yoongi," she said, sounding brittle. She placed another hand on his other shoulder, her head bent down. She whispered, "Please."