9 Shes Gone (1/2)

Minhyun woke up with a smile on his face.

After getting ready, he made his way to the breakfast table. Yoona always met him around 8:00 for breakfast.

He sat in his regular spot and tapped his fingers against the table. After their night adventure, Minhyun was in a better mood than before. The sadness of his heart was released. He was free from his chains of unhappiness.

Finally, someone understood the struggles he had. Of course, she didn't go through the exact experiences as him. But they both felt pain at a young age. They also relied on each other.

To him, Yoona was not just company. She was more than that. The light who brought him out of the darkness.

Five minutes pa.s.sed. Then twenty. Before he knew it, an hour pa.s.sed by and there was no sign of the young girl. Minhyun began to worry. Yoona was never late to eat. The little girl loved food so much that she wouldn't let it get cold. Sirens began to wail in his mind. Where was she?

When Minhyun looked at the workers, he noticed all of them tense. Their pale skin was ghastly, stripped of all color. He could feel the tension within the room. Something was wrong.

Without a second thought, Minhyun ran to the worker's residence. In his mind, he tried to have hope, thinking about different excuses to why she wasn't there. Perhaps, Yoona caught a cold and was too sick? After all, the late night wind was quite cold. Or maybe she had some sudden family emergency she needed to tend?

Once he reached the entrance of the building, he ran up the creaky stairs. The workers in the halls all jumped to the side, surprised by the heir's sudden appearance.

His eyes continuously searched for the room number 85.

When he found the number engrained in silver on a wooden door, he didn't hesitate to swing it open.

The door was unlocked. That was a bad sign.

To his horror, the room was perfectly tidied up. The blankets on the floor, where the two slept, were neatly placed in a pile on top of the drawer. The wood tiles were dust-free and glistening, as if n.o.body has stepped foot on them. Minhyun stumbled into the room and opened the closet doors. There were no clothes. It was completely empty.

As if n.o.body lived there.

Tears began to well up in his eyes. No. No. No. This could not be true. He found it hard to breath as realization dawned him. He grabbed the sides of his head. He won't believe it. Yoona had to be somewhere in the house.

For hours, Minhyun made his way through the labyrinth, searching every corner. The workers who followed him, began to lessen, as they couldn't catch up to his speed and energy. He didn't care about them. All he could think about was the girl with the beautiful smile.

But no matter how desperately he looked. Despite the amount of times he called out for her. There was no answer.