First Snow

Wrong Train, Right Direction

Hospital room, no Ri Jeong Hyeok.

When she opened back her eyes for good, she was still surrounded by white walls, machines, and the disturbing smell of hospitals. But it wasn't the only smell she could notice.

Pine, leather, soap.

It was still there, in the air, she hadn't dreamt that...

"Jeong Hyeokssi..."

Her voice came out in an unintelligible croak. She tried to clear her throat but her mouth was dry and the canula was bothering her. She tried to take it off, only to have the nurse preventing her from doing so and Seri was feeling so bad that she almost snapped at her. She managed to clear her throat as her eyes went to her mother, who was anxiously looking at her.

"Ri Jeong Hyeokssi..."

It was a question, even if deep down she knew he answer. He would be with her if he had been there. Her mother shook her head, confirming what she was thinking, and she felt her heart sink.

"I went out for a coffee a few hours ago, and when I came back, he wasn't here anymore... I thought that maybe he had gone to grab something to eat... Poor man could barely stand..."

She was worried sick. She could remember every single word he had told her and she would be lying if she said she hadn't been hurt. But she knew him, she knew the depth of his feelings for her, and she trusted him. He had saved her, protecting her, putting his life in line just to ensure that she was safe. He loved her, and he would never give up on her, not now, not after what they've been through. Her faith in him was the only thing holding her together.

What if he has been arrested?

What if Cho Cheol Gang had found him?

What if he already had been sent back to Pyongyang?

She had no idea of what had happened while she was unconscious, or of what was happening at that very moment. Her mother had told her to not worry, and she had understood from a conversation that she had on the phone while thinking Seri was asleep, that her brother had been arrested. He apparently had tried to stop the NIS when they were following Cho Cheol Gang and Ri Jeong Hyeok. Meaning that something regarding Cho Cheol Gang had really happened, making anxiety even more difficult to deal with.

She had her answer when the next day her mother entered her room with a serious expression. Seri sat up in bed, questioning her with a look. The fever had subsided and she was no longer in intensive care, which should have made her happy. But without any news from Ri Jeong Hyeok, she was lost and terribly worried. His phone was off, she hadn't heard from the boys either, and every possible scenario was running through her head.

"Seri-ah... I was on the phone with Agent Kim..."

Her heart quickened and she held her breath.

"A flight for Pyongyang is leaving soon with several North Korean diplomats ... He will be among them ..."

The pain took the little breath she still had away. Her lips trembling, she grabbed the sheets.

"He should have left the day before yesterday, but it looks like he had to respond to the needs of the Swiss police first ..."

"Wh ... when is he leaving?"

Her voice was reduced to a shaky breath and she had to take a deep breath to force the air into her lungs.

"In three hours ... Seri-ah, I've already spoken to the doctor, he doesn't mind you going out, as long as we come back... We can be in Zurich on time ..."