The five girls walked together along the narrow street leading back to the hostel.
It wasn't the shortest route.
Hana and Ruhi had discovered it during their first month in Korea and insisted it was worth the extra walk. The street was quieter than the main road, with fewer people and almost no traffic.
"And most importantly," Minji announced proudly, walking backwards in front of them, "it gives you all more time to enjoy my company."
Sophia laughed.
"More like more time to survive your nonstop talking."
"I call it a talent."
"I call it noise," Hana replied.
The group burst into laughter.
Their voices echoed softly through the peaceful street.
Unlike the busy main road filled with students returning to their dorms, this lane felt calm.
Almost too calm.
Then—
Woof!
A sudden bark shattered the silence.
Zoya froze.
Her heartbeat lurched.
"Did... did you hear that?"
Before anyone could answer—
Woof!
This time it was louder.
Without thinking, Zoya grabbed Hana's arm and hurried behind her, pulling Ruhi along as well.
"Don't move!"
Her frightened whisper made the others turn around.
Sophia pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh.
Minji glanced around curiously.
"Yah... don't scare her."
"I'm not scaring her," Hana chuckled.
"The dog is."
"I don't care whose fault it is," Zoya muttered, peeking nervously from behind Hana's shoulder.
"I'm staying right here."
The others couldn't help laughing.
But Zoya wasn't joking.
Her eyes searched every corner of the quiet street while her heart continued pounding.
Then...
Silence.
The barking stopped as suddenly as it had begun.
No movement.
No sound.
Only the cold evening breeze rustled the leaves above them.
No one could see where the bark had come from.
For a few long seconds...
No one moved.
The quiet street fell silent once again, as though the barking had never happened.
Zoya slowly loosened her grip on Hana's arm.
"Maybe..." she whispered uncertainly.
"It left."
Minji, however, wasn't convinced.
Her eyes wandered toward a large tree standing a little farther ahead.
"I think the bark came from there."
She took a cautious step forward.
"Minji..." Ruhi called quietly.
"Be careful."
Minji nodded without taking her eyes off the tree.
The others followed a few steps behind, though Zoya made sure Hana stayed between her and whatever was hiding there.
"If something jumps out..."
"I'm running."
Sophia laughed softly.
"I think you'll outrun all of us."
"I'm serious," Zoya muttered, peeking nervously from behind Hana's shoulder.
The girls couldn't help smiling.
But none of them looked away from the tree.
Minji slowly leaned to one side, trying to see behind it.
Nothing.
She took another careful step.
Still nothing.
Just as she was about to turn back—
Woof.
A softer bark echoed from behind the trunk.
Everyone flinched.
Then...
A large black Doberman slowly stepped out from the shadows.
His sleek coat reflected the warm glow of the nearby streetlights, while the silver tag hanging from his collar shimmered for a brief second.
He didn't bark again.
He simply looked at them with calm, intelligent eyes before quietly sitting beneath the tree, as though he had been waiting for someone.
For a moment...
No one spoke.
Sophia blinked in surprise.
"He's... beautiful."
Minji's expression suddenly changed.
Her gaze locked onto the Doberman.
The collar.
The cropped ears.
Those gentle, familiar eyes.
She slowly crouched down, careful not to frighten him.
The dog didn't move.
He simply watched her in silence.
Minji's breath caught.
"No way..."
"What?" Hana asked, confused.
Minji didn't answer immediately.
She kept staring at him, almost unable to believe what she was seeing.
Then she slowly turned toward the others.
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"This isn't just any Doberman..."
A brief pause.
Her eyes widened.
"This is..."
"...Bamson."
The name struck Zoya like a spark.
Bamson...?
Jeon.J's Bamson...?
Her heartbeat stumbled.
For a moment, everything around her faded into silence.
"Are you sure?" Hana asked, still unable to believe it.
Minji nodded slowly, never taking her eyes off him.
"Yes."
"I've seen him so many times in Jeon.J's pictures."
She pointed gently toward his collar.
"And look..."
"That's his collar."
"There can't be another Doberman exactly like him."
Zoya stared at Bamson without blinking.
Out of every street in Busan...
Out of every place...
How had they found him**?**
Her fear disappeared, replaced by something she couldn't explain.
Disbelief.
Responsibility.
And a strange feeling that this meeting had been written long before today.
"Minji..." she whispered.
"You're right."
"This really is Bamson."
Then another thought hit her.
She looked around instinctively.
"But..."
"If Bamson is here..."
"Doesn't that mean..."
"...Jeon.J is somewhere nearby?"
The five girls instinctively looked around.
The quiet street stretched in both directions.
A few students walked past from time to time, chatting amongst themselves.
But there was no sign of Jeon.J.
No security.
No manager.
No one searching.
Only Bamson...
Sitting quietly beneath the tree.
"But..." Sophia frowned. "Why does he look like this?"
Everyone's eyes returned to him.
His ears drooped.
His usually sleek black coat looked dusty.
He hadn't moved from the same spot since they had found him.
For a dog known for being energetic...
The silence felt wrong.
"Jeon.J takes such good care of him," Sophia said softly.
"I've seen so many videos."
"He never looks like this."
Zoya's heart tightened.
She looked at Bamson more carefully.
He wasn't barking anymore.
He wasn't running toward anyone.
He simply sat there, watching every passerby with quiet, hopeful eyes...
As though he was waiting for someone who hadn't come.
A painful silence settled between them.
Minji slowly stood up.
"I don't think he's waiting here by choice."
The others looked at her.
"I think..."
"...he's lost."
No one argued.
Because deep inside...
They had all reached the same conclusion.
Minji glanced toward a nearby house where a short flight of steps faced the street.
"Let's wait there for a while."
"If Jeon.J is somewhere nearby, he'll definitely come looking for Bamson."
"And if no one comes..."
She looked back at the Doberman.
"...then we'll know he really has lost his way."
Everyone silently agreed.
They walked over and sat on the steps, pretending to enjoy the snacks they had bought earlier.
To anyone passing by...
They looked like a group of university friends taking a short break after an evening walk.
But every few seconds...
One of them looked back at Bamson.
Minutes passed.
Students came and went.
Cars rolled quietly down the street.
The evening grew colder.
Still...
No one came for him.
Bamson never left his place beneath the tree.
Every time footsteps approached, he lifted his head with quiet hope...
Only to lower it again when the strangers walked past.
Watching him...
Hurt.
"I don't think we can stay much longer," Sophia finally said, checking the time.
"She's right."
"If we're late, we'll be locked outside."
Silence followed.
No one wanted to leave.
Yet none of them knew what the right decision was.
A long silence settled between them.
Only the distant sounds of passing cars disturbed the quiet evening.
Then Minji took a slow breath.
"I can't leave him."
The others looked at her.
"If people recognize him..."
She glanced at Bamson.
"...this place will be crowded within minutes."
"He'll become even more frightened."
Sophia sighed helplessly.
"But if we stay..."
"We'll miss the hostel curfew."
"I know."
Minji lowered her eyes for a moment before speaking again.
"So you all should go."
"I'll stay with him."
"No," Hana replied immediately.
"We're not leaving you here alone."
Ruhi nodded.
"Exactly."
"If one of us stays..."
"We all stay."
Minji looked at them with gratitude, but worry still clouded her face.
She turned toward Hana.
"Check the news."
"Maybe Jeon.J posted something."
"Or maybe released an update."
Hana quickly unlocked her phone and searched through Korean news sites, fan communities, and social media.
The others waited anxiously.
After a minute...
She slowly lowered her phone.
"Nothing."
"No announcement."
"No update."
Minji frowned.
"Then only two possibilities remain."
"Either Jeon.J doesn't know Bamson is missing..."
"...because he's overseas for work."
She paused.
"Or..."
"He knows."
"But he's keeping it away from the media while searching for him himself."
Everyone fell silent.
Both possibilities sounded equally painful.
Minji looked back at Bamson.
"But whatever the reason..."
"I can't leave him alone."
Until now...
Zoya had remained unusually quiet.
She looked from Bamson...
...to the empty street.
Then she finally spoke.
"I think..."
"I know something."
Four pairs of eyes turned toward her.
"I don't think he is overseas."
A brief silence followed.
"I think..."
"He's here."
"In Busan."
"What?" Hana blurted out.
"When I arrived in Korea..."
Zoya continued softly,
"...my flight landed here in Busan."
"There were reporters everywhere."
"Cameras."
"Security."
"And in the middle of them..."
"...was Jeon.J."
The others stared at her in disbelief.
"You saw him?"
Zoya nodded.
"Yes."
"But that's not what surprised me the most."
She looked down, remembering every detail.
"The passenger sitting directly in front of me during the flight..."
"I later realized..."
"...was Jeon.J."
Ruhi's eyes widened.
"Are you serious?"
"I didn't recognize him at first."
"He was wearing a black cap."
"A black jacket."
"And he stayed seated until almost everyone had left the aircraft."
"Only after landing..."
"When the cameras surrounded him..."
"I noticed the symbol on his cap..."
"And the same symbol on his sleeve."
Her voice softened.
"It was him."
Complete silence surrounded the five girls.
Zoya slowly turned toward Bamson.
The Doberman had rested his head on his paws once again.
Quiet.
Tired.
Still waiting.
Her heart tightened.
She looked at Bamson quietly.
So... you spent the entire flight worrying about him...
That's why you couldn't sleep.
She remembered how the passenger in front of her had shifted in his seat again and again throughout the journey.
At that time, I didn't understand why.
Now I do.
A faint smile touched her lips.
You never heard my heart...
But Allah heard every prayer I whispered for you.
She slowly lifted her eyes toward the evening sky above Busan.
The same sky...
The same moon...
The same cool breeze.
A strange warmth spread quietly through her heart.
Ya Allah...
You brought me to his city.
Under the same sky.
Breathing the same air.
Perhaps...
That alone is enough for today.
To be continued…
Regards,
ZK 💌