.....
Tomorrow we will shift to the share house. The belongings of the four of us have already been moved — only Zoya's things are left. Tomorrow, when we properly move there, we will take Zoya's luggage and Bamson with us as well.
There are some formalities required to leave the hostel, so Minji asked everyone to go one by one and complete them.
Sofia was with Minji, and Hana and Ruhi also agreed to go because they had the money ready to pay the rent — meaning they could afford the monthly rent — so they didn't create any issue.
But Zoya was still silent.
After Ruhi, Hana, Minji, and Sofia had gone, it was Zoya's turn to go to the hostel head office, but she didn't move from her place.
Minji saw her and said,
"Zoya, now it's your turn — in fact, you are the last one left. You need to go and complete the hostel leaving formalities."
But Zoya didn't raise her head.
She was sitting at her study table, and even today Bamson was not lying close to her as usual — he was standing a bit away.
But Zoya didn't mind.
She wasn't scared, nor did she feel irritated.
She was just silent.
Minji called her again, but still there was silence.
"Zo…"
This time Sofia called her, but before she could say more, Zoya finally spoke.
"You all go. I am fine here. Please don't force me."
Everyone looked at each other.
"No, we cannot leave you here. We are friends, we will go together — that was the decision we made. Don't start again from where you stopped, Zoya. We are friends."
"Yes, but not such best friends who can't leave one another," Zoya said quietly.
"Please, I request all of you, don't force me. I am fine here."
(No one knew the war Zoya was fighting inside — how she had reached here, how she had been broken, how her own loved ones had turned away from her. She still had a huge debt to pay — because Zoya never broke her promises. She had learned that from her father. And no one knew that she didn't talk about herself, didn't let anyone feel what she was feeling. But sometimes that fear showed itself in front of everyone. That's why she prayed a lot to Allah, because she knew — only Allah could hear her, only Allah could end or help her handle that fear.)
"You…" Minji started to say something, but Ruhi stopped her with her eyes from speaking further.
In this dorm's atmosphere, no one knew how much their lives were about to change — especially Zoya's — and the same fear that was killing her inside was about to stand right in front of her.
....
After reaching Busan, Jeon.J came live before anything else and talked about Bamson's missing.
He had stayed silent until now because he was on a concert tour and didn't want his personal problems to affect his fans.
But now he said that if anyone — anyone at all — had seen Bamson or knew anything about him, they should contact him on the number given.
He requested everyone just to inform him.
...
After this live, all around there was only talk of Bamson — even in the National University hostel where the five girls were standing outside one dorm, asking Zoya why she wasn't coming with them.
After an hour-long discussion, Zoya still didn't agree to come.
One by one, the girls gave up, tired, and now they were behaving normally.
Yes, they were sad, but they couldn't force Zoya anymore.
"Zoya, come with us. Today we are together, but later we won't be on the same path. Once we are in separate places, we can't just come out together. So let's go outside now, while Bamson is resting."
(During their discussion, Bamson had gone back to his mattress and was lying there again.)
"We will go outside and get what we need," Hana suggested to Zoya.
But Zoya said, "You all go, please. I am here with Bamson. You all go."
Hearing Zoya's reply, everyone went silent.
They couldn't understand what had happened to Zoya — why she refused everything — or was she always like this?
It had not even been that long since they had become friends.
But they all left.
....
(Remember, whenever they went outside, someone always stayed with Bamson and tried to make sure that no one came into their room. Or if all of them went, they locked the room so that they could keep Bamson hidden all these days. After the first day, they hadn't stolen food from the mess. Mostly Minji and Sofia spent their own money on Bamson to prove that they were Jeon.J's best fans. Hana and Ruhi also tried, but Minji and Sofia stopped them because they knew about their financial struggles. And Zoya still hadn't recovered from the guilt of sacrificing her snacks and biscuits for Bamson on the first day — she was still thinking about what else she might have to sacrifice.)
After everyone left, Zoya locked the door, turned back, and came close to Bamson.
She sat near him and started saying,
"Bamson, do you know what it feels like to be away from your loved ones? I know it too well. Many children leave their homes and go to other countries to study… they return, they manage… but I feel not everyone must have broken inside the way I did.
You know, Bamson, living for your loved ones is not hard. The real pain begins when you are no longer part of their lives… when even in their prayers, there's no place left for you. Bamson, my heart is aching."
She tried to hold back her tears, but despite her efforts, she started crying out loud.
"My heart is swelling with pain. Bamson, look at me — I feel like I'm breaking apart, like there's no one left for me here."
She kept asking herself — how can someone remove you from their heart so easily?
She sat a little ahead, looked into his eyes, and whispered,
"How can a mother remove her child from her heart?"
And in that moment, she felt as though Bamson's eyes were filling with tears.
Then suddenly she thought —
No, Zoya, you are not completely alone. You still have him, this soul who understands your pain. Whether he can grasp your words or not, he surely understands your tears.
And with that thought, she laid her head on the floor beside him and cried again, this time letting her heart pour itself out.
Zoya felt as if she was completely breaking.
She kept crying and kept thinking — what will happen now?
It is very difficult to trust anyone in a foreign country.
And Allah had blessed her so quickly with such good friends — and now they were leaving too.
(When Zoya came to Korea, her oldest fears from childhood had traveled with her. She always felt restless in empty rooms and deep nighttime silence — as though the darkness would swallow her. Her second fear was bad company — she was scared she might meet people who would show her the wrong path, harm her, or dishonor her, just like in novels. This fear was so deep in her heart that she would look at every new face with suspicion. These fears were so deeply rooted that sometimes she felt weak — as though she would never be able to face all these tests.)
.....
"Zoya has decided not to come with us. We will shift without her," Sofia said in worry.
"As far as I've observed, she is a scared girl — she doesn't trust easily, and she is also afraid of being here alone," Hana revealed.
Everyone looked at her.
"How can you say that? She is a modern-day girl — she came here all alone. If she was like that, how did she even come here?" Minji said, irritated.
Hana looked at Minji with sadness because her tone was harsh toward Zoya.
"I saw her scared and crying at night. Yes, it's true that we haven't known her for long, but I have observed her in these few days. That's why I am insisting she should come with us. She is facing something different from what we are facing, but she isn't telling us because she doesn't trust anyone yet. But leaving her alone is not right," Hana revealed further.
"But if she doesn't trust us, how can we take her along?"
"She doesn't trust, but now we know her — won't we feel guilty leaving her alone?!" Hana cut Minji off.
"She won't be alone — new roommates will come."
"She doesn't trust — she wakes up at the slightest sound at night. Do you understand me, Minji? Even a little noise wakes her up — meaning she lies awake in her blanket while we all think she's sleeping. She is awake because she doesn't trust. And if new roommates come — Zoya doesn't know them, they will take time to know her — but since yesterday Zoya has been crying continuously. Haven't you all noticed? She wants to stay with us but cannot afford the share house with us. Our help will hurt her self-respect."
....
During this argument, Ruhi was scrolling on her phone and suddenly shouted,
"Oh no!"
Everyone looked at her.
"Look at this!"
They all leaned toward her phone, and their breath stopped.
Jeon.J had publicly shared that Bamson was missing.
A video was playing on the screen.
Jeon.J appeared wearing a simple hoodie and cap, but his tired eyes told the story.
"Hi everyone…"
He paused, searching for words.
"I wanted to talk to you all today because I can't stay silent any longer. Bamson is missing."
The chat section exploded instantly — crying emojis, worried messages, fans asking what happened.
Jeon.J exhaled slowly, his shoulders heavy.
"I was on tour, I was working, but inside… I was dying every second knowing he isn't home. I know you all support me because I make music for you, but today, I need your help as just… a person. A son. A friend. Please.
If anyone, anyone at all, has seen him — contact this number. Just let me know he's okay. I promise I'll handle the rest."
His voice shook slightly, his eyes glassy.
"Bamson is not just a pet. He's my family. Please help me bring him home."
And the screen faded after he whispered softly, almost like a prayer —
"Come back soon, Bamson. Please."
After this, there was chaos everywhere. Jeon.J's fans were desperately searching for Bamson.
"This news is three hours old — from the time we were in the dorm with Zoya. And Zoya is still in the dorm with Bamson. The university is closed because of snowfall, but most students didn't go home because of work and assignments," Hana said, feeling uneasy.
"What are you saying? Speak loudly," Ruhi asked.
Hana first looked at Ruhi, then at Minji.
And when she looked at Minji, her heart skipped a beat — because right behind Minji, there was someone watching them — a one-eyed camera.
Hana immediately stood up.
Minji looked at Hana in disbelief and turned back, but couldn't understand Hana's reaction.
"What happened?" Minji asked.
"If what I'm thinking turns out to be true — Zoya will never be able to stand with confidence again. Hurry!"
Hana almost ran toward the hostel.
Sofia, Minji, and Ruhi, surprised, followed her.
But Minji quickly caught Hana and asked,
"What happened?"
Hana, with tears in her eyes and her hands on her knees catching her breath, said,
"She was right — we should have handed Bamson over to the police. They would have handled it better. But no one cares more than we do."
Minji, now irritated, cut Hana's words.
She was tired of hearing the same thing again and again.
But Hana held Minji's arms and said in pain,
"The day we saved Bamson using the window side — did we ever check if there were CCTV cameras there? The street was straight — maybe the last house's CCTV covered it."
Before Hana could finish her sentence, Minji said,
"Okay, fine, we didn't check. But what is there to worry about in this?"
"Look!" Ruhi called Minji and showed her that Jeon.J had shared not just the news but also the missing date.
Sofia spoke next,
"Jeon.J's crazy fans will search outside areas like mad people. And the older fans will check CCTV footage from that date to see if Jeon.J passed from their street. And if any fan gets the CCTV of the window side — they will go to the window room. Even if our faces aren't clearly captured, they will still reach the room. And right now in that room — there is only Zoya's stuff and… Bamson!"
Everyone said in unison,
"Zoya!"
They all screamed together and ran toward the hostel.
They were at a mall near the hostel and didn't even think to take a cab or taxi at first, but running all the way wasn't possible either — so they stopped, took a taxi, and left for the hostel.
No one spoke to each other during the ride — they were only praying for everything to be fine.
But when the taxi stopped in front of the hostel, everyone's hearts were beating fast.
They walked inside with heavy steps — and the scene before them was enough to shake them completely.
Bamson was standing next to Jea (Jeon.J's PA)…
And Zoya was nowhere to be seen.
To be Continue....