"Where is my daughter?" Mr Park raged as soon as he entered Minho's place.

Minho, who was at the dining table trying to eat after days of stress, shot a glance in Mr Park's direction.

"Uncle?" He couldn't help but be shocked seeing her father standing in front of him.

"I asked you a question, Minho!" The elderly man approached him, now grabbing his collar with a fierce grip.

Minho coughed, trying to free himself from the hold. "Calm down, Uncle Park, I can explain." Tears welled up in the boy's eyes as he struggled to separate himself from the enraged man.

Sensing Minho's distress, Mr. Park finally released him, causing him to collapse back into the chair he had been sitting in.

"I need to know everything," Park said sternly, taking a seat beside him, his eyes boring into Minho's.

"We were just there to explore the forest..." Minho mumbled, still trying to catch his breath. "But then she disappeared all of a sudden—"

"Minho, don't make it more complex than it already is, please. I beg you, tell me where my daughter is! It's been months now." Tears threatened to spill from Mr. Park's eyes.

"Trust me, Uncle, I have no idea what happened that day. Not only me but even Jiwoo and Eunji are clueless. We were just exploring, and all of a sudden we heard some weird sounds. I'll be honest with you, Aeri tried to stop us, but we didn't listen. The next thing we knew, she wasn't in our sight."

"But how can this happen? Weren't you all together?" Park questioned, desperation creeping into his voice.

"We were, Uncle, but all of a sudden we weren't. I don't remember much, but what I know for sure is that... those whispers. After we heard them, everything went black, and we found ourselves in the same forest, but Aeri was gone. We tried finding her for hours, but then we gave up. Panic took over us when we heard the distant roars of the wolves, making us leave the forest immediately." Minho's voice cracked as he began to cry.

"Don't you feel a bit guilty, Minho? You left her there alone," Park said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Guilty? Uncle, at least you don't get to call us that. You should be the one  drowning in guilt. Just look at you, coming back after months from abroad, only now discovering your daughter is missing. Don't you feel ashamed? You weren't there for Aeri when she needed you. You're just finding out your daughter is missing after months, and you think I should feel ashamed?" Minho chuckled bitterly, choking on his tears.

"I—" Park stammered, unable to form words.

"And just so you know, we tried everything we could, sir. We even went to the police, but they didn't believe us because they needed her guardians to confirm everything. But you guys—" Unable to control himself any longer, Minho stood up, leaving his plate of food untouched once again.

"At least tell me where you guys went," Park called after him, his voice breaking.

"The forest on the outskirts of town," Minho replied, his voice hollow.

"T-that forest? The same one where that family died years ago?" Park questioned again, his disbelief evident.

Minho nodded, climbing the stairs and leaving Park behind, alone with his anguish.

"Aeri, my dear, I'm so sorry..." Park whispered to the empty room, his voice filled with regret and sorrow.

A lil filler chapter ig?

and the updates are slow cuz I'm currently focusing on my other BND book more but I'll try my best to update this one often too!

Tysm for reading, stay tuned <3