comes in waves ↠ kim sunwoo

chapter fifty seven

Third Person POV

And he was gone.

He was gone like the first time. He was gone like every other time he was gone before Heiji.

"We know he has travelled, mam," the officer said as Heiji paced around their office. "His car was found at the airport, with no ticket. It seems as though he didn't plan to come back."

Heiji let out a shaky breath of air, looking at Sunwoo's mother who sat anxiously in the chair.

"And if he has travelled? Can't we contact interpol?" She suggests to the man. Heiji had no idea what the woman was talking about, but she trusted in her considering she had been a police officer all of her years.

"We can," the man nods. "But that doesn't necessarily mean we will get him back."

"Why?" Heiji asks, as his mother looks down at her feet. "Why couldn't we get him back?"

"Well," he sits down as Heiji eagerly follows suit. "He's an adult, Mrs Kim. If he has chosen to travel, and he chooses to stay there - we cannot force him to come back."

Heiji nodded, part of her knew that answer was coming.

"Even if his mother reported it, he is still a responsible adult," he explains further. "The most we could do is let him know his wife and family are concerned."

"He's very ill, officer," she says as his mother nods from beside her. "Would that make a difference?"

"You said he's took his medication and documents," he shakes his head sorrowfully. "For all we know, wherever he is, he could be paying for continued medication."

"What do we do?" Heiji looks at his mother with pleading eyes, as she walks over to place an arm around her daughter in law.

"We wait," she nods. "He always comes back, Heiji. We know this. It's just a waiting game."

And so they waited, the weeks turned into months and the months turned into a year.

A whole year Heiji spent grieving and mourning the loss of the man, because her heart told her that she may as well prepare for the worst.

"Will you come with me?" She asks Haknyeon, who looks at her with a stern face.

"Heiji," he shakes his head. "I would, you know that. Please tell me what your plan is, though. Once you get there, what do you plan to do? How do we track down a man the police haven't been able to for a whole year now?"

"I don't know," she rambles quickly, looking around her kitchen. "I've tried to find some clues, maybe he left something to let me know. I think I'm going mad."

"This isn't 'Looking for Alaska', Heiji," the man holds her hand to calm her down. "If he wanted you to know where he was, you would have known by now. I don't say this to upset you."

Heiji nodded her head, the man was right. She looked at the ring on her left finger, which she never took off to do anything.

"I wonder if he still wears his ring," she mutters, fidgeting with it.

"I think he does," Haknyeon nods. "Why wouldn't he?"

The woman shrugs her shoulders lazily, looking out of the kitchen window, "I don't know. Maybe he's moved on. I wouldn't blame him."

"Why must you say that?"

"Things weren't great before he left anyway," she takes a deep breath. "If he's alive, I'm sure he's longing for something."