Currently standing in middle of a half burnt room, Ara was confused as to what to do. The moment she stepped inside the hospital it all turned chaotic, she only remembered a nurse coming towards her, urgency visible in her eyes just to tell her the biggest possible news about Nari jumping out the window of her ward in a unsuccessful attempt to suicide, before her eyes closed and she felt her body colliding with the floor. She had fainted but not before hearing that Nari is alive and safe except for some really bad injuries.

When she woke up, doctor said that it was because of low blood sugar and also that she is taking too much emotional stress which is making her weak day-by-day, if she's not able to take care of herself and skips meals she might end up in hospital bed.

It was when she realized it, she is taking so much stress about everything that she didn't even eat and sleep well since she started this whole investigation about that incident, but instead of thinking this she needed to see Nari at that moment.

"Doctor, may I please see Nari? It's important."

Even though she just woke up and her eyes weren't quite settled, the judging look on the doctor's face didn't whent unnoticed by her. She was expecting him to just leave but he replied anyways but rather politely, "I am sorry miss Ara, but you can't see her just yet! Everytime we approach her room, she becomes very agitated, I think she needs sometime alone. Also consider taking her to a psychiatrist, as she really needs a special treatment."

Ara heard everything but to be honest it went all over her head, not because she didn't want to but because she was worried, about Nari, about her health, about this huge mess and about the little amount of money she had. How will she get enough money to pay the extra hospital bills for Nari's mental health and other treatments? She is in trouble and maybe it's all ending here was what she thought before she got the idea to investigate the half-burnt apartment of Nari in attempt to find a clue, so now she is here, all clueless and confused, after all what could she find in a pile of ashes? Maybe nothing. She kept observing the surroundings; the yellowish-green wallpapers were burned and black. The terrifying thing was how heigh the fire went that it even burnt the white painted ceiling of the 9ft heigh apartment, no doubt Nari is traumatized.

Other furniture were all half or full burnt except couch on which Nari was found fainted. If it were for others, they migh have thought that it didn't burn because fire didn't reach there, but Ara is not careless enough to let this clue slide, if the fire burned everything how's th8s small object, closest to the fire still not burnt.

She moved closer and observed it for a while. Just when it seemed she might leave, she shifted the couch slightly, revealing a plain wooden plank fitted seamlessly into the floor, making it resemble the floors of a traditional wooden house. It wasn't much odd but she needed clue at any point. Bending down to its level she knocked on it which confirmed her that its hollow inside, she might find something after opening it. She he tried pulling it up but it didn't budge so she pushed it down instead, no use.

Ara was sure af that if she is able to open or break it she might find a huge clue,
She is right at some point, it might be connected to the case but she is unaware that it will help unravel some of the deepest secrets of her past which have been kept hidden for years. She is excited now but might bole traumatized if she gets to know, because she was never supposed to know it, about her life, about her untold past, about her parents. She wasn't supposed to know about it all, about the love that never existed, about everything she forgot, and especially about her own true identity.

Now not thinking much, she just tries to figure out ways to open or rather break that wooden plank as she has already tried opening it. They were the only two options, 1) pull or push it harder till it opens or 2) completely break it, now when she has already tried the first one, the last one is the one and only option. Ara clearly remembered buying a hammer on Christmas two months ago to put up the decorations, "it will be helpful!" She mumbled to herself before quickly walking to her apartment to look for it.

She searched her whole apartment for nearly 15 minutes only to find it in the fridge, yes you read correct, found that hammer in the refrigerator. And she burst out laughing.
That day, after decorating Ara went to find some water bottles, she bought earlier which were in the fridge. She had completed everything but forgot to leave the hammer behind. When she opened the fridge she kept the hammer in it for drinking water thinking she will take it out later but forgot it in there. Poor hammer is I the fridge since then.

"How could I be so forgetful?"
She said out loud before taking it out.
Suddenly her smile dropped, realization hit her so fast, she had was so stressed that she got a common habit of forgetting things easily, the point of everything was to make her feel less stressed after uncovering the true but instead it's getting worse. If all of this keeps happening, you might not want to know think of what will happen, Oh neither does she, she doesn't wants to get depressed again, she doesn't want her all-so-well life to get bad again, no, not again.....

Not wasting another second thinking of it, she hurried back to Nari's apartment.

Ara's grip on the hammer tightened as she broke open the wooden plank, inside it was a black colored file, with a small golden logo in the middle which shone in the sunlight entering through the open glass window. It didn't look old or dirty at all, felt like it was kept in there just some time ago, while the place it was in looked liked a wooden box, completely old with many layers of dust and cobweb covering it. Picking up the file and dusting off the dirt, she hid it under her sweat shirt and covered the gap with the couch just like before.

It was when she turned around that she saw a nearly 6ft tall dark shadow lurking just around the slight corner of the apartment door. She ran towards it in hope to catch whoever it was but that person had already escaped, running away twice as fast.

Taking cautious steps towards her apartment, Ara was well aware of the dangers that could lurk in every shadow. The cautiousness made her jump slightly in fear when her mobile rang out of nowhere. Ara wondered who might call at this hour. She pulled out her phone and swiped to answer, putting it close to her ear.

"Ara-h!!" The male voice on the other end blared into her ears.

"Woah! RK? How did you even remember me? And by the way, it's Ara, so please drop the 'h'—"

"Ara-h, Ara, whatever! This is important! Stay in your apartment and be safe. I'm coming over with a friend of mine!"

"But RK—"

*Beep!!*

The call abruptly ended, and RK's number glowed ominously on the screen.

Ara sighed, looking at her phone. "Well, at least he didn't call me 'Ara-h-yah' this time," she muttered to herself, trying to lighten the mood.

Glancing around her surroundings one last time, she hurried inside her apartment, double-locking the door. If RK was that serious, it meant something was up.

She turned around just in time to see a shadow jumping out of her window.

She ran towards it and looked out of the window to see that guy who just jumped out, he was a tall, young guy, wearing all black except for his white sneakers. He was thin but strong according to Ara, from her point of view he was strong because no weak person would jump from the 2nd floor and still manage to run that fast. And those white sneakers, Ara can never forget them, she still remember that gift she gave to him, her only best friend she left long ago. Everybody questioned her, why would she leave him? How could she leave her only best friend, her only support? Oh, well society is just like that, they love interfering into others problems. Yes, they know the story but not the truth behind it, they call her bad for every best decision she made, for everything she sacrificed for others but don't even want her to be herself, to live for herself, isn't it what this world is? Isn't this what our society is................?

The ringing of the doorbell snapped Ara out of her thoughts, prompting her to answer it. Sure enough, it was RK. Who else could it be? She let him in and closed the door before bombarding him with questions.

"What's wrong? Why were you so serious on the phone? And where's that so-called friend you mentioned?" she asked.

"Ara! Ara! Hold on a second! Can't you let me sit down and have a glass of water first?" RK replied.

She gave him an apologetic look, gesturing for him to sit while offering him a glass of water. Just as she was about to sit, the doorbell rang again.

"It must be him!" RK said, almost jumping up to open the door.

"You're exhausted. Let me do it," Ara insisted.

Opening the door, Ara was stunned. Standing there with short, straight dark brown hair and wide eyes was none other than Park Yunho.

"It's you!"
"It's you!"

They both exclaimed at the same time, making RK jump in shock. "You two know each other?" he asked.

"Of course!"
"Of course!"

They echoed again simultaneously. RK raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Great, now I've got a synchronized choir at my door."

Yunho grinned. "At least we're in tune!"

The tension melted away, replaced by laughter and camaraderie.

.....................................................

Ara lay in her bed, reflecting on the day's events. It had been the happiest and most vibrant day she'd experienced in the past 11 years. She and her new friends had talked and laughed, making her forget the long years without companionship. They exchanged numbers and promised to stay in touch despite living in different cities, far apart from each other.

When Ara inquired about their seriousness, they revealed another case similar to Nari's had occurred somewhere far from her location. They feared it might be the work of a gang or murderer, so they came to ensure her safety.

However, what troubled Ara most was her inability to get Yunho out of her mind. His melodic laughter, the depth in his eyes that felt like oceans, and the lack of stress or tiredness visible in his face left her pondering.

"How does he manage to stay so joyful...?" she mused. "Anyways, why am I even thinking about him?"

Most people might think it was a silly crush or deep love, but Ara didn't believe in love, even if she had fallen for him. Now, who would make her believe in it?

As she pondered these thoughts, her eyes fell on the black file on her bedside table. She decided to check it tomorrow, too tired to do so now. It was only 10 pm, but she had already fallen asleep, with Yunho's question lingering in her mind. It was the first time in years that she felt genuinely happy and tired enough to sleep before midnight. She hoped for a beautiful dream after years of nightmares and better sleep for the first time, perhaps the last, for her past was about to unravel, and the mysteries would soon be solved, though the trauma might be immense.

As Ara drifted off, her mind kept returning to the black file. She couldn't shake the feeling that it held crucial information. What was so special about it? It contained somebody's birth information. But whose? And why was it so important?

To be continued...