Her phone buzzed.
A message from Joon.
"I know where to find your sister"
Chaeyoung stared at her phone, eyes locked onto it as if looking away would make it vanish.
"What do you mean?" Chaeyoung replied, confused yet eager for an answer.
"I was supposed to tell you the other night but..." Joon typed, hesitating to send the message. He quickly cleared it and wrote a new message.
"I know a thing or two about hacking and I found out which orphanage she was sent to," Joon said.
Chaeyoung's eyes widened; not in disbelief but in surprise.
"So they actually sent her to an orphanage?" She asked herself as she looked away from the black-pink colored pouch phone in her hand.
"Which one?" She asked Joon.
"It's all the way in Dongducheon..." Joon replied almost immediately, as if he was waiting for Chaeyoung's reply.
"DONGDUCHEON?!" Chaeyoung said out in shock as she stared at the message. "How do you know?" She asked.
"Well, before my mum left us, I caught her talking to the President on the phone once in a while and she mentioned something about taking 'the child' far away— to Dongducheon," he texted.
"So I concluded it was your sister. Then again, she mentioned something about a car accident? I'm not really sure I can remember much because that was a long time ago. I hacked into the Orphanage she was in contact with and it wasn't really hard. The security wasn't tight," he added.
"I went through their records and found someone named Kim Yeojin. I searched online for Kim Yeojin and it says she was the President's daughter who died in a car accident. But it was all just a cover-up."
Chaeyoung inhaled sharply. Her hands were shaking.
"We need to see the place. We need proof."
She grabbed her jacket.
"Wait! You can't. What if your dad or someone else finds out?", Joon replied in concern.
"Don't worry about that. He's probably busy with Eunji," she replied almost immediately, as if knowing he'd be against it.
"But still... going to another city? That's a whole level of crazy," he replied.
"I know," she texted bluntly.
Without waiting for an answer, she slipped out the of her room and rushed towards the mansion's exit.
Joon, watching from a distance, nodded to himself and quickly headed to the nearest bus stop.
The bus ride to Dongducheon was long and silent.
Chaeyoung sat by the window, jaw clenched, eyes fixed on the passing streets. Joon sat two rows behind her, hood pulled low, scanning the road ahead.
Neither spoke. Words wouldn't help now.
***
Joon stared at Chaeyoung from across the bus aisle, her silhouette framed by the dim streetlights streaming through the window. She seemed so calm on the outside—composed, determined—but he could sense the storm raging inside her. He wondered if she even realized how much was at stake.
His mind drifted away, flooded with memories he'd tried to bury. The cold, silent house after his father's funeral. The echo of his mother's laughter during their last dinner together, the way she had talked about escaping to a life of luxury—the life she wanted, free from worry and responsibility.
Six feet under now, his father. And his mother? Somewhere living the dream he couldn't understand, a world away from the mess he was tangled in.
Where was that perfect home now? Joon asked himself bitterly.
He shook his head, pushing the memories aside. His gaze flicked back to Chaeyoung. What if this all goes wrong? The thought gnawed at him like a persistent itch. Was she prepared for the consequences? Did she even have a backup plan? Or was she one of those reckless 'no-thinkers' who just charged headfirst into danger without looking back?
He swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his own doubts pressing down on him. I hope this changes a thing or two about what she thinks of me, he admitted silently. For so long, Chaeyoung had kept him at arm's length, never quite trusting him. Maybe this—finding her sister, breaking through the lies—would finally bridge that gap.
He looked away, afraid that if he met her eyes, she would see the uncertainty lurking beneath his calm exterior. But even if things fell apart, he promised himself he wouldn't let her face it alone.
***
When the bus pulled into Dongducheon, the air felt colder.
They walked quickly to the orphanage—an old, faded building surrounded by iron gates with peeling paint.
The lights inside were dim. A few shadows flickered behind barred windows.
Chaeyoung's heart pounded.
Joon crouched near the side entrance, pulling out a small device.
"Let me do this," he whispered.
With a few taps, the lock clicked open.
They slipped inside.
***
Inside, the orphanage was eerily silent. The faint smell of old wood and dust hung in the air.
Chaeyoung's steps echoed as she led the way to the records room Joon had found in the hacked files.
Joon pulled a flashlight from his bag and switched it on, illuminating rows of filing cabinets and scattered papers.
He rifled through the files, pulling out a thin folder labeled with Yeojin's name.
Chaeyoung's hands trembled as she flipped it open.
Photos. Medical reports. Admission papers.
All real.
All undeniable proof.
Suddenly, a noise.
Voices.
Footsteps.
They froze.
"Someone's coming," Joon hissed.
They ducked behind a cabinet just as the door creaked open.
A caretaker appeared, flashlight in hand, muttering about late-night checks.
Chaeyoung and Joon exchanged a glance and stayed still, hearts hammering. Eyes staring at each other as their faces were merely five inches away from each other.
After a tense minute, the caretaker left.
They waited a moment, then slipped out the way they came, locking the door silently behind them. A deep silence between them both.
"This place has got to go down sometime soon," the first caretaker muttered, his voice low as he shut the heavy door to the room filled with dusty files. He rubbed his tired eyes, the strain from years of silence and secrets etched into his face. "With everything going on behind closed doors, I don't reckon we'll last here more than a year."
The second caretaker nodded slowly, his gaze fixed on the peeling wallpaper and cracked linoleum floor. "Yeah... I believe so too. Most of the trouble started about eleven years ago. Ever since then, it's been nothing but problems—missing kids, strange visitors, rumors that some people won't let go of."
He let out a long sigh, glancing nervously over his shoulder as if the walls themselves were listening. "Sometimes I wonder what really happened back then. And what else they're hiding. It's like the past keeps finding its way back."
The first caretaker's jaw tightened. "If the truth ever got out, this place would be shut down for good. But no one wants to stir up old ghosts."
Their voices faded away as footsteps echoed down the empty hallway, leaving the room to its silence—and the secrets buried within.
***
Inside, breathless and shaken, Chaeyoung looked at Joon.
"We have to see where she was taken after this," she said.
They went through Yeojin's files, searching for more details about her adoption, hoping to find something useful enough to keep them on the right track.
"I found something!" Chaeyoung whispered out lightly as she showed Joon the files in her hand.
Admitted: February 18, 2014.
Transferred: October 3, 2016.
Fostered by: Lim family.
New ID issued.
There was a photo attached to the scanned document.
It was her.
A bit older. Hair longer. Her smile smaller.
But it was still Yeojin.
The memory of her sister's voice drifted in—giggling as she asked for another bedtime story, struggling to say "unnie," whispering and giggling under blanket forts.
Gone.
Taken.
Hidden.
And now... found?
Joon nodded. "That's her," he said as he glimpsed at the files, then at Chaeyoung. "I know," Chaeyoung responded without taking her eyes off the files.
They made their way back to the bus stop, boarding a bus to the address found in the records.
***
Meanwhile, far away from dusty files and fading records, Jongnan and Eunji were reveling in their life of luxury, dancing like there was no tomorrow in the middle of their grand penthouse suite.
The city lights glittered through the tall glass windows, casting soft reflections on the marble floors. Music pulsed from the gold-plated speaker system, filling the room with the hauntingly euphoric rhythm of "Die with a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.
Jongnan twirled Eunji around in his arms, laughing like a teenager freshly in love. His hair was slightly tousled, his eyes glowing with warmth and just a hint of wine.
"I wish this would last forever," he said breathlessly, pulling her close with a grin that hadn't faded in weeks.
"Me too, my love. Me too," Eunji replied, voice honey-sweet as she collapsed playfully onto the massive bed, the silk designer blankets beneath her as smooth as her perfectly crafted lies.
But behind her soft smile and delicate fingers was a mind always calculating.
"Forever?" She thought. "There's no such thing. But if I play this right... I can stretch 'forever' long enough to get everything I want."
She tilted her head toward him, giggling softly as he joined her on the bed, still glowing from their dance session.
"He still doesn't suspect a thing. Not about the money. Not about the child. Not about what I did all those years ago to clean up the mess Mr. President here left behind."
She gently ran her fingers through his hair.
"Let him keep dancing. Let him keep smiling. That's what he does best—live in the present while I plan the future."
Because in Eunji's mind, happiness was a game. And she never played to lose.
***
The new destination was a small, quiet neighborhood on the outskirts. It seemed dead. No soul around and no house with lights on.
They walked to the other end of the street where they found the house with the address they were looking for.
It was a modest house, with wind chimes hanging from the porch and a crooked mailbox looking like it would fall off any second from now.
She walked up the porch, heart pumping, hands sweaty. Joon had never seen this part of Chaeyoung before— the scared and eager part of Chaeyoung.
Chaeyoung's fingers trembled as she lifted her hand and knocked.
There was no reply from anyone but she didn't hesitate to knock for the second time.
No answer.
Third time's the charm and there was a reply from the other end of the house.
"Who's there?" Was what was heard but there was no answer from Chaeyoung as all she could do was to stand and wait.
The door swung open slightly and slowly after no one replied.
Standing there was Lim Yoona.
Hair tousled, wearing an oversized sweatshirt, eyes wide with surprise.
"Chaeyoung?" Yoona whispered.
Chaeyoung swallowed hard, heart catching in her throat.