The character of a person is judged through actions. Whether a good deed or a bad outcome is done, prying eyes will always bleed words from their tongues. It is nothing new for Lee Shinyoung, a 19-year-old digital art vocational student, to be aware of such nature, that she herself also possessed.
But none of them exactly matters; at least Shinyoung believes that people cannot be defined that easily.
Shinyoung is riding in her scooter, making her last delivery for the day. She works three part-times a week, just to make ends meet. It is her way of managing her expenses with little to indulge for herself. If she cannot juggle her life between school and work, Shinyoung knows her life will not move forward as much as she wants to.
Cruising through the neighborhoods in Chuo Ward, Shinyoung shows great familiarity in the big city she lives in. Kumamoto City is like the back of her hand, and finally she stops in front of a tall building. Parking the scooter on a safe side, Shinyoung takes a plastic bag from the delivery box.
Using the stairs to climb up to reach the fourth floor where her customer is, Shinyoung can feel the labor of such work at times. However, the supposed fourth floor is listed as the ‘fifth’ floor, as some superstitions let some owners be wary of the number. Nevertheless, Shinyoung scours the floor and finds room 411.
She presses the doorbell and then leans nearly to the speaker.
“Moshi, moshi. Mugiwara Delivery!” Shinyoung says. She leans back a bit, fidgeting on her feet. While waiting, she raises her free hand and stares at her fingernails. Her index one is blackened, making her face look sour.
Oof.
She forms her lips into a thin line.
“…I need to be more careful,” she murmurs.
The door suddenly opens, causing Shinyoung to pose in a cheerful demeanor in a second. She puts on a cheery smile and faces the customer in delight. The customer is a young man with disheveled and unruly hair. Shinyoung bows a bit and raises the plastic bag.
“Asato Atsushi-san?” Shinyoung asks with a brimming smile.
“Yes,” he affirms.
Shinyoung shows the food box. “Here’s your ramen and drinks. All for 1570 yen.”
Atsushi gives 2000 yen to Shinyoung, which Shinyoung prompts to give the change. After the transaction, Shinyoung bows a bit.
“Enjoy your meal, sir!” Shinyoung says.
Atsushi just nods and closes the door.
Shinyoung blinks.
That’s…rude.
Kumamoto City is a huge metropolitan area in Kyushu, with a large pool of people with different cultures, and streets, buildings, and establishments that are built from different eras. It has been also a place where different ethnicities can meet, which fills the five wards that complete the city.
The center of the city is the Chuo Ward where Mugiwara Shop is located. It is owned by an entrepreneur named Akitagawa Yuka, with most of its meals being noodle dishes.
Shinyoung arrives at the shop, entering straight to the kitchen. She places her helmet down on a nearby counter and walks to the staff room. But before she does, she sees the shop owner staring straight at her from the cashier counter.
She wonders what is up to.
Shinyoung bows at her, “I’ll be off, Akitagawa-san.”
“Be careful on the road, Shinyoung-chan,” Yuka says, “there have been news about missing people lately. You need to be aware of your surroundings.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Akitagawa-san,” Shinyoung kindly responds.
Shinyoung gives another bow before entering the staff room. She walks in front of her locker, and she opens it. She grabs her backpack from the locker, proceeds to wear it, and closes the locker next.
She looks at her wristwatch. The time is 11:42 AM.
While Shinyoung works as a delivery girl in the morning, she is a student in the afternoon.
And with that, she still has an hour before the classes start.
Togata Media and Technology College, which is previously and more commonly known as Togata Tech School, is in Minami Ward, the southern ward of the city. It is a vocational school with low tuition fees and offers practical skills to get better jobs. The school hours usually span from 2 to 6 hours, depending on the student’s availability and course. Shinyoung has picked a 2-year program in Digital Arts, and she aims to get a job in advertising houses in the future.
It is currently breaktime, and Shinyoung is reviewing her notes under the tree within the school grounds. The wind blows and while in a trance, someone sits beside her.
“Ah, the weather’s fine today.”
Shinyoung glances to the side and sees Song Junkyung, a 2nd year journalism student. She is more known as Lily, as it is the name she likes to be called, and an aspiring newscaster.
“Oh senpai, hello,” Shinyoung greets and returns in reading her notes. Lily puffs her cheeks for the seeming disinterest from her junior.
“Won’t you be interested in today’s news, Shin-chan?” Lily asks, trying to poke her interest.
Shinyoung ponders. “Then…what is it?”
Lily smiles, looking satisfied with the granted attention. “Well, let me tell something so serious… Someone in our school is reported to be missing.”
“Oh?” Shinyoung finally looks at her. “Really? I never heard of it. Who?”
“Yeah,” Lily affirms and appears to be serious, “I just learned about it when I visited Kawachimachitake last week and then learned that it is a student in our school.”
“That’s concerning,” Shinyoung says and then reads again, “I hope that person will be found soon.”
Lily looks annoyed. “Come on, Shinyoung, look more enthusiastic about it.”
“What do you mean by enthusiastic?” Shinyoung asks. “I’m interested, but it’s not I can actually do something about it.”
Lily sighs. “Yeah of course. But I plan to visit where he lives.”
“What’s the name?” Shinyoung asks.
“Baek Dohyun, also a freshman but in Electronics Department.”
A quick pause sets in.
“When he started to be missing?” Shinyoung asks.
“Since last month,” Lily answers, “…but I am not sure about the date exactly.”
Shinyoung frowns. “It’s already September.”
“Yeah. I was thinking of visiting the family after class today. You know, I may be able to do something,” Lily says.
“Aren’t the police doing anything? Or was it already reported?” Shinyoung asks again.
“It’s already reported but still had no leads where to find our schoolmate,” Lily says, “I just need to get more details, and I guess I can endorse it on the school page.”
“The case of missing people is rising lately. I guess it’s related to it,” Shinyoung guesses, “we need to be more cautious in our surroundings.”
“Yeah, that’s the thing,” Lily suddenly says.
Shinyoung frowns. “What do you mean?”
Lily pulls a bright and sweet smile at her. “You told me that…you know karate right…”
Shinyoung nods a bit. “Yeah, and?”
Lily leans closer. “Can…you give me company later? I’m…actually feeling scared.”
“You know I still have a part-time later,” Shinyoung says.
“Shinyoung-chan, please~” Lily pleads, “I can wait after your part-time is over.”
“Don’t you realize it will already be evening by then,” Shinyoung says. “Nope.”
“What if I’m kidnapped? Won’t you feel bad? And I really wanted to help, I just need to talk with his family. For consent.”
Shinyoung sighs.
Having one part-time job is already a hard thing to do, let alone doing a second job for the day after school hours. But for Shinyoung, this is completely essential to do so.
It is past 9 PM when Shinyoung is through with her second job. As a delivery girl in Mugiwara Shop, this time around, Shinyoung is a press operator in Yokoshi Press, a local printing press in Chuo Ward. She spends here at least 4 hours of work in 3 days, and the hourly rate is around 2,220 yen, giving her at least 26,640 yen per week.
Shinyoung is on her way to leave the building when she goes first towards the clerk’s desk to log her time out. The manager, Tanaka Iori is tending over the attendance.
“I’ll be going, Tanaka-kacho,” Shinyoung says, bowing her head a bit.
Iori smiles at her. “See you tomorrow, Shinyoung-chan.”
“Hai.” Shinyoung returns the smile.
“Since you are not around tomorrow, I’ll give this to you now,” Iori takes something under the desk and hands it to Shinyoung, “Treats from Dubai.”
A chocolate bar.
“Thank you, kacho,” Shinyoung says with another bow.
Iori just nods at her. “Take care, Shinyoung-chan.”
Shinyoung gives another bow before leaving the building. She fixes her scarf on her way out and then spots Lily waiting outside. Lily seems bored while leaning against the railings, and a face of excitement appears right after seeing Shinyoung going through the door.
Lily is on her upbeat self again with her posture straightened.
“Sorry, you wait that long, senpai,” Shinyoung says. Lily links her arm to Shinyoung’s arm.
“Nah, it’s fine,” Lily says, “I just finished off an assignment in the nearby café. And some papers.”
“Oh, that’s cool,” Shinyoung says. “Let’s hurry up then.”
“I wonder how you can do a lot of part-time, Shinyoung-chan,” Lily says. “Just looking at you, I think I’ll be already that tired… Now I feel bad asking you to come with me.”
Shinyoung chuckles. “Nah, it’s fine… I would only have the delivery arubaito and here in printing press again tomorrow.”
Lily looks exasperated. “That’s still two.”
“Do you want chocolate?” Shinyoung shows the chocolate bar to Lily. “The supervisor gave this to me. From Dubai.”
Lily widens her eyes. “Woah? Dubai? That’s gonna taste good.”
“I hope so,” Shinyoung comments. “Let’s eat it later at the bus.”
“Yeah,” Lily says and then giggles. “I’ll pay our fare to Kita Ward.”
It is not long before they finally reach the bus terminal.
Shinyoung has no idea how Lily managed to learn where Baek Dohyun lives. They are now in an unfamiliar place in Kita Ward, and Shinyoung is surprised that she is not familiar in this area. Probably there is still much to learn in Kumamoto City, which Shinyoung must be more open about. The streetlights provide enough illumination with their path and the feeling of uneasiness is lessened, considering the current times they live in.
They stand still under a lamp post, while Lily is reading the ‘map’ she has sketched in finding Baek Dohyun’s house.
And if Shinyoung is honest, it is almost incomprehensible.
“Hmmm…” Lily traces her finger in the lines in the paper.
“Are you sure that map can take us in Baek Dohyun’s home?” Shinyoung asks.
“Girl, I won’t take you with me if I am not certain,” Lily says. “Oh, so we have to go left.”
Shinyoung cannot stop but show a face of confusion.
“For real?”
“I’m Song Junkyung and you should trust me with your heart and soul,” Lily says. “Besides I verified this with his classmates. If this is not real, I’ll hunt them tomorrow. Look, my notes are very readable.”
Shinyoung leans closer for another look and realizes how still messy the sketches are.
“Unbelievable,” Shinyoung blurts out.
Lily giggles again, “Have a bit more faith in me.”
“Oh yeah, okay, it’s you anyway,” Shinyoung says.
Lily leads once again and as they reach the corner of the street, they turn left. Shinyoung just follows as they reach a downhill slope, when Lily grabs Shinyoung’s hand in support.
“Dohyun-kun’s classmates say that we’ll see a laundry shop, then in front of it will be their house,” Lily informs.
“Left or right side?” Shinyoung asks.
“Well, we’ll know…” Lily answers.
Shinyoung looks around, searching thoroughly at the houses. The place evokes a different feeling away from the city’s metropolitan area, and the houses are formed still with outdated designs. Traditional roofs and fences, something one can see during the 1950s. She feels a sense of familiarity, adding to the fact that there are fewer kanji and hiragana scripts in the signage.
“Oh, I find it Shinyoung-chan,” Lily says and Shinyoung tries to look where Lily is staring at. A house with a board signage of a laundry shop, they both stare across from it and find another house—presumably Baek Dohyun’s house.
Lily breaks free from Shinyoung’s hand and walks in front of Dohyun’s house. It is also a traditional home—but not a Japanese-style one.
Shinyoung finds a Han script at the wood sign of the gate.
Injeong.
“Shinyoung-chan, here,” Lily calls.
Shinyoung walks nearby. “Hm?”
“You’re more fluent than me in Korean,” Lily says. “Maybe you can speak for me?”
Shinyoung frowns. “Seriously? I’m pretty sure they speak Japanese, too.”
Lily fidgets a bit. “Come on. I guess it will be homely if we speak Korean.”
Shinyoung frowns. “Why you’re suddenly worried by that now?”
“Well, who knows they speak more Korean than Japanese,” Lily says.
“Senpai, it will be impossible for us to live here if we don’t adapt,” Shinyoung reasons out.
“Please?” Lily insists.
Shinyoung rolls her eyes. “I’ll be knocking your head away if you keep insisting.”
“Okay fine. Back me up if they really speak Korean,” Lily says. She takes a deep breath and opens her mouth. “Sumimasen! Are some people in there?”
Shinyoung leans her head back from Lily’s loud voice and rubs her ear.
“Hm, no one’s responding,” Lily murmurs. “Konnichiwa-desu?!”
Shinyoung moves away again. She looks back at the house when she notices that someone goes out from the door—which is an old woman with a large bun. The old woman looks annoyed and disturbed and Shinyoung already feels embarrassed about it.
The old lady walks near the gate. “Who are you girls? It’s already late!”
See, they speak Japanese. Shinyoung thinks, and she notices that Lily’s mood brightens up a bit.
Lily smiles at the old woman. “Uhm, hello obaa-san! My name is Song Junkyung, and I study at Togata Tech School. Is there by any chance that Baek Dohyun lives here?”
The old lady does not give any immediate response—but rather turns around and yells.
“Sun-ah-yah! Someone’s looking for Dohyun!”
And by the third time, Shinyoung’s ears are shocked again.
The old lady leaves them and returns to their house, while Lily and Shinyoung are silent waiting for something. Lily forms her lips into a thin line and glances at Shinyoung.
A bit later, another person goes out of the house. This time, it is a lady in her 40s who comes near the gate. Her face looks worn down and depressed, yet undeniably kinder.
“Yes?” she asks.
Lily smiles. “Oh, hello ma’am! We’re from Togata Tech, and I’m Song Junkyung and this is Lee Shinyoung. We’re asking if Baek Dohyun lives here and…”
“Yes, he lives here,” The lady answers, quite sharply, “but he is currently not here, so you won’t find him today. He’s been missing for a month already.”
The confirmation still pricks both Lily and Shinyoung’s hearts.
Lily moves her lips a bit before showing a completely calm composure. “Uhm, yes ma’am… That’s why we’re here. We heard that he’s been missing. As schoolmates, we’re here to get more details about it.
The lady looks skeptical. “And why is that?”
Shinyoung steps in. “We are part of the school paper, and we wanted to spread the news about him. If there are more people who will reach about this news, there’s a higher chance for him to be found. And we’re here…to get more details about it.”
The lady stares at them as she takes a sigh.
“Okay, please come inside.”
Shinyoung and Lily look at each other in unison as they also face the lady again.
“Arigato gozaimasu,” Lily says.
Shinyoung only knows at first that Baek Dohyun is a freshman but being born in the same year as her is new information. His disappearance is the same day as his birthday, which his family just presumes that he is only spending time with friends.
Until days pass, there is no sight of him.
His mother, Jung Sun-ah, without words, is distressed while recounting the events to them.
Shinyoung puts down the yunomi down to its saucer. It is served earlier to them, and she can say that the tea is different from what she usually drinks. She stares at the handleless teacup for a bit, pondering on how it is made, before returning to the grieving mother in front of them.
Sun-ah’s skepticism towards them earlier is now changed to vulnerability, and Shinyoung just listens in silence, hoping that Sun-ah will provide them with more details. Their small abode has telltales sign of hardship, which is something not new as a story of many. Yet, Shinyoung can feel more about their current worries that by a small home they have, a part of them is missing.
Meanwhile, Lily seems worked up.
“…We tried to do follow ups to the police, but it seems they are not taking his case seriously,” Sun-ah goes on. “Delinquents disappear all the time, and they’ll just show up again if they want to—that’s what they told us. But Dohyun-ah is not the type of kid to make me worried like that…”
Lily feels her heart sink. Shinyoung frowns.
And Shinyoung knows how displeased Lily is right now. Those curled fists on her lap are telling.
“They really say things like that, eh…” Lily murmurs, “I’m sorry you need to hear things like that, ma’am.”
Sun-ah smiles faintly—yet the tiredness is still evident in her face.
“I know that Dohyun can be stubborn sometimes, but I don’t want to even think he’ll be involved in anything drastic,” Sun-ah says, “and I know he won’t be…”
Shinyoung can only listen.
“Please don’t lose hope, ma’am,” Lily says. “We’ll do our best to help even…some authorities don’t.”
“We’ll be glad to also get some help from you. It’s…just giving me a bit of optimism that there are people who still care about my son,” Sun-ah says.
Shinyoung grabs the yunomi again and drinks the tea.
“As a fellow schoolmate, I won’t be able to sleep if there’s news like this. Well… Can I know your contact details? So, people would know who to call if ever they get a sight of your son?” Lily asks.
Sun-ah nods, “Thank you.”
People will help each other in need. It is how life has met progression, yet it seems the world is slowly forgetting it. Cooperation sometimes becomes a selective choice, for better or worse. Choosing personal welfare is not a bad thing, but to be completely insensible to others is the same unkindness of harming oneself.
After tea and goodbyes, Lily and Shinyoung set off to finally go home. They once again use the bus route towards the Chuo Ward, where the two will get in separate ways, as Lily is to Higashi while Shinyoung to Minami.
Shinyoung sits beside the windowpane as she leans her head on the window. Thoughts fill her head while watching the lights enter and leave her sight and recall the family of Baek Dohyun.
“Shinyoung-chan,” Lily calls and Shinyoung glances at her seatmate through the faint reflection at the window. Shinyoung sees that Lily is staring downwards, which Shinyoung can tell that her senior is also thinking the same thing.
Silence.
“Do you think we can actually help?”
Lily asks. Shinyoung does not give an immediate response.
Shinyoung lets the air of silence fill them. Not because she does have nothing to say, but the exhaustion both mentally and physically has gotten into her.
“We just can hope,” Shinyoung says, “we can also just believe.”
“I’ll be asking the school page tonight to post the missing person notice,” Lily says, and Shinyoung sees that Lily finally lifts her head up. “And then I’ll try to ask his classmates if any of them is with him when he disappeared.”
Shinyoung turns to Lily. “Just don’t do it too much, senpai. The authorities still need to do their thing.”
Lily looks at her, seemingly to understand what Shinyoung has said.
“I get what you mean,” Lily responds, and heaves her breathing a bit, “I’m just gonna ask them anyway. Who knows, it will help to get more clues. I won’t forget my priorities anyway.”
Shinyoung shifts her attention again to the views outside the window. Sometimes it is just a temporary disappearance. Sometimes they will return the next day.
Sometimes it takes years to none.
Meanwhile…
In a dark and unknown place, an audible huff will be heard alongside with fast-paced footsteps. One, two, three—a young man suddenly stops in front of a huge wall in front of him.
The young man releases a sigh in frustration, as much as desperation is also evident. He wears a jacket that is already dirty, and some parts are even torn, as towards his face is sweat and some wounds on his skin. There is also a flow of blood on his cheek, and this pitiful state is something he wants to escape from.
If the situation will allow him to.
He runs a hand to his hair, as his senses spike so high when a shadow suddenly appears behind and casts over him. He turns around and his breath hitches—and fear cannot be hidden anymore in his face.
“G-Gaah!” He cannot help but gasp, knees trembling. “Please spare me!”
The ominous figure stands still, yet its features seem an alien to someone’s eyes. It wears green-plated armor, from chest, limb guards and shoulder plates, with a helmet with large bug-like eyes and an antenna similar to a mantis. It raises its right arm with a mechanical bow, which adds tension in the heavy atmosphere, and its red eyes glow—as the young man cannot tell any fortune anymore.
The arrow is pointed towards its prey.
“Well, all is fair in love and war,” The hunter proclaims, voice sounding feminine. “It is not my fault you were in this game but cannot live up to it. Say goodbye to your sponsors.”
“No! I’ll stop resisting, I promise! Please, just don’t destroy it!” he pleads on his knees. “Do me anything, but just spare me!”
Even with those cries, the air remains cold.
The armored individual just presses something on her belt buckle, which looks unusually larger than normal. It has a red core in the middle, with a trace of white glow that creates an image of the head and antenna of a mantis. The visor in the helmet locks on something from the young man—and it appears that he also wears a strange-looking buckle. An information is revealed next, and an order of [DESTROY] is upon it.
The hunter wastes no time and grabs an arrow from behind and loads it into the bow. The young man tries to move away but slips down, which makes this situation even more hopeless for him.
“Your gamble ends here, Hiraya Takashi-san.”
The visor reveals another command.
[LOCK ON]
The tip of the arrow glows with glaring red—with another line commencing. She locks the target from the visor and a message show allowing the arrow to be fired.
[FIRE]
Takashi tries to move away, but only the wall hits his back. The arrow leaves the bow and without a hitch, it goes to the center of Takashi’s buckle in speed. A short run of electricity surges to his body, causing him to lose consciousness. He falls flat to the ground and the hunter puts her arms down.
The armored individual goes to check Takashi, but to be specific his belt. The buckle is destroyed for good and takes it out from his waist. She recognizes the emblem that is used in the middle, which causes an ample silence from her.
A scarab. The group she has been chasing lately.
After a moment of staring at it, she puts it down first. She stands up and presses something on her buckle, and then the armoring in her body starts to be removed—gradually turning into a backpack. A young lady, much to her late teens, appears beneath the bulked armor. She has long hair, which she is now tying with a ponytail, and her petite figure is something unthinkable to wield such an armory. She also wears dark composite armor, which seems to be the padding for her armory.
She picks up the broken buckle again and turns around.
Only to see someone already looking at her.
“Oh, Yiyoung-unnie. You scared me,” she says.
Yiyoung, a young woman who seems merely few years older than her, just smiles. She wears a jacket with a white shirt underneath, a black skirt and high boots. She pats the hunter’s head and greets her.
“Good job, Wooseung-ah,” Yiyoung says, “You could have at least act shocked when you see me though.”
The hunter, now known as Wooseung, smiles with her eyes and just giggles.
“I knew you were watching me, that’s why I acted cool,” Wooseung says, “but anyway, I got the buckle destroyed, and his backpack is left on the location I sent you. Just need the authorities to arrive to arrest him.”
“You’ve done a good job, as always, my dongsaengie,” Yiyoung praises her again. “Is there something you want to eat after this?”
“I want bibimbap...and ramyun,” Wooseung answers.
“Okay, let’s buy it later. I’ll just report to the headquarters first,” Yiyoung says.
Wooseung suddenly grabs the hem of Yiyoung’s jacket.
“Unnie… Can I hug you first?”
Yiyoung looks at her. “Of course.”
Wooseung smiles in delight and hugs her older sister. Yiyoung responds with a tight embrace as they quickly release.
“Just go ahead first, and I hope Nine will also report soon as well,” Yiyoung says, “and by the way, here’s your jacket.”
Wooseung wears it and her stomach suddenly grumbles. “I’m hungry.”