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."

"Are you longing for something?" Haknyeon raises an eyebrow.

"For him," she says sadly. "It's strange to go from having someone constantly there, to having no one. I guess after a while affection becomes a need and not a want."

"I'll support you whatever you do," he clarifies, looking down at her hand. "But you're still married, Heiji. You should only be doing something if you're willing to let go of that."

"I'm not doing anything," she shakes her head. "I'm lonely, I'm not desperate. I'm grieving, not horny."

Haknyeon let's out a laugh, which fades to a grin as he watches the woman before him laugh at her own jokes.

It's been a while since he seen her smile, so her laughing like this was a sight to behold. And he was beyond proud of her for that, and everything she had gone through.

"I say this without intending to hurt your feelings," he warns as the girls face drops.

"What's that?" She asks nervously.

"You're a strong woman," he nods, earning a smile from her.

"I'm supposed to take offence to that?"

"No, no," he shakes his head. "You've been through a lot with him, dare I say you've put up with a lot from him. I hope you're remembering that in this situation, there isn't a bad guy. But if it was anyone, it certainly isn't you."

"I fear I pushed him away that night," she shakes her head. "I told him to fuck off. I didn't mean quite literally, though."

Haknyeon lets out a small laugh as he shakes his head again. "You promised to love each other in sickness and in health, Heiji. You stayed true to your word, he didn't."

"Wow," Heiji's hand flies towards her chest. "That stung."

"I did warn you," he raises an eyebrow as the two laugh. "I hate seeing you blame yourself for this, Heiji. The man has always ran from his problems, you haven't."

"Next weeks class will be..." Heiji takes a quick glance at her folder, her mind suddenly playing tricks on her as she forgot already. "Sports Psychology."

Half of the class groan, and half of the class seemed interested as they departed from the classroom.

Heiji stared at her folder for a second longer. She looked at the empty classroom which either cleared in seconds, or she was too immersed in her own thoughts to even comprehend the ticking of the clock.

Staring at the empty desks, the woman's eyes began to deceive her.

She could see her younger self, aiding a younger Sunwoo in his studies for his sports psychology class. Her eyes clenched shut, opening again to see the two young ones before her laughing in a pathetic attempt to study.

She could almost hear his deep voice, which barely altered throughout the years. She could hear him persuading her to be his tutor for free, and she could hear herself unwillingly accepting, as the boy dragged her out of the library to go on an adventure.

The tears that filled her eyes were blinked away as quickly as they came, a knock at the door startling the woman. "Hi, sorry."

"Are you alright?" Yuqi had noticed the woman's daydream.

"Yeah," she takes a deep breath as Yuqi looks at her with concern on her face. "I promise."

"I believe you," she says, lying. "I've got a dentist appointment during lunch, would you like to accompany me or will you be able to handle a lunch break without me?"

"I'll manage," she nods, giving the woman a smile. "But I will be missing you."

"You'll text me if you need anything, right?" Yuqi nods slowly at her, making Heiji giggle at the girls mother-like instincts.

"I will, Yuqi," she takes her hand and squeezes it. "Thank you."

Yuqi goes into her handbag, taking out a wrapped up plastic tub which made Heiji gasp. "For you, my dear."

"You're the best," she smiles as Yuqi reaches down to hug her. "I'll see you soon."

"You're staying in here today?" She tilts her head as the woman nods. "I get it, it's painful without my company."

"Too much to remind me," Heiji pretends to wipe a tear from her face as Yuqi laughs, waving her a goodbye. 

Heiji smiled as she looked down at the food Yuqi had gotten her, her heart felt warm at the woman's gestures.

She had grown to be Heiji's closest friend, whilst Haknyeon still remained her best friend. That may sound complicated, but it made sense in her head. She seen Yuqi almost everyday, told her mostly everything, but she had that special best friend connection with Haknyeon which was undeniable.

"The gruesome twosome aren't joining us today?"

Heiji laughs, looking over to see Hyunjae at the door. "No, unfortunately."

"That is a shame," he chuckles. He had adapted the nickname for the two as over the last year, he had gotten a bit closer to Yuqi and consequently Heiji, despite telling her that night that he shouldn't. "Would you like company?"

Heiji contemplated it for a while. She wondered if the time alone would be good, or if the company would be better.

She nods, as Hyunjae closes the door behind him, looking at the blind as though questioning if he should close it.

"You should," she nods. "In case any students see."

"In case any students see Mrs Kim with another male?" He jokes as Heiji shakes her head.

"You know what students are like," she shrugs as Hyunjae drags a chair to sit across from her. "So, what did you get up to at the weekend?"

"What kind of small talk is this Heiji?" He chuckles as the woman shrugs.

"I'm sorry for being interested," she mocks his voice, making the man smile up at her words. She didn't mean what it meant to him, but that was okay. "So?"

"I went out for dinner," he nods, opening his container with his lunch inside. "And that was about it."

"More interesting than my weekend," she laughs, taking a bite of food. "I stayed in bed, and I marked essays. That was how exciting my weekend got."

"I'm so jealous," he exaggerates, earning a chuckle from the girl which made his stomach drop.

The effect the woman still had on the man scared him, terrified him even. She had the comfort of familiarity, a special friendship he didn't want to lose. However, he was trying to let these feelings go.

"Heiji?" He asks suddenly, surprising himself as he did her.

"Yes?" She tilts her head curiously as the man chews on his bottom lip.

"I had a date at the weekend," he says truthfully, as Heiji's mouth formed an o shape as she nodded. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I felt as though I had to tell yo-"

"Hyunjae?" She cuts him off from his rambling, her sweet voice had the power to do that. "I'm glad."

"You are?" He asks, somewhat upset but he hides the tone of his voice.

"It's a step forward," she nods, almost as though she was trying to convince herself too. She didn't have to explain the context, they both knew he loved her. "So I'm happy for you."

"Thank you," he says, looking between her eyes as he quickly broke the state. "It didn't go great, but thank you."

"It didn't?" She pipes up again, watching as he looked down nervously.

"Nah," he shrugs casually. "It didn't. But as you said, it's a step in the right direction."

Heiji nodded almost awkwardly, as silence took over them before one decided to change the topic and everything ran more smoothly again.

And for the first time in a year, Heiji went to sleep with thoughts about someone other than Sunwoo.