"How come you practiced all night? Stupid, who will look after you if you get sick?' In the infirmary room, Aera is yelling at Shin.
"Not only him, you all as well," glaring at everyone.
"Don't worry, we're all fine. We will surely win."
"Shut up, does winning matter right now? Why didn't no one call me?" Aera shouted angrily.
"I thought about calling you, but you were at the Cheonggyecheon lantern festival. So I decided not to disturb you," Shin replied.
Jimin waiting outside of Jenny's restaurant while Bo-ra came. She stepped inside, went to Jenny, "You know the person that is waiting outside your restaurant".
Jenny shrugged her shoulders as she peeked out the door. "I think he likes me, so he came here," said Jenny.
"Hey, it doesn't make sense. He looked so handsome and charming. How could such a good looking man end his life with you?"
"Do you have a death wish?"
"First we have to check him out," said Bo-ra. Both of them approached Jimin. "Who are you? What are you doing in this place? Are you stalking Jenny?"
"No, no. I came here because of Aera," Jimin said in a low voice.
"What happened to Aera? Is she hurt?" Bo-ra was concerned. Then Bo-ra, Jimin, Jenny went to Aera's college.
When they went to college, Aera and Shin were coming out, everyone met at the campus. "How come you're still in college?" Jenny asked Aera.
Aera tried to answer, "Shin doesn't feel well—"
Bo-ra interrupts, "Oh, you spend daily time with Shin. That's why you didn't reach us. I also thought like that. But, she is the one who said you're hiding something from us."
"Hey, you are the one who told me that thing." Both of them start fighting.
Shin wondered, "What are you talking? She didn't even spend enough time with me. Nowadays, she used to go early." They all stared at Aera.
At Jenny's restaurant, everyone is conversing. Jenny is taken aback, "Aera I know you are a kind person. But you're looking after him at your place…! That doesn't make sense."
Aera and Jimin sat in silence. Bo-ra said, "Yes, Jenny was right. You're treating him like a Shin, right? Like paying college fees, giving money. But at your house….. How could a man and woman stay alone?
"If I hadn't treated him that day, he would have starved to death. Are you merely left if you're in my shoes? It's only for a few days; once he has money he will leave. He may appear to be in his late twenties, yet he is just 22."
Jenny and Bo-ra both looked at him incredulously.
Aera and Jimin exchanged glances and giggled, while heading down the roadways. "Why were you told like that?" Jimin asked.
"They'd be scared if I told them what happened that night. I don't want them to be concerned about me. It's not meant I don't want them to be unconcerned. I meant that I cared for them a lot."
Aera paused at the phone store, then grabbed his hand and walked into it. Jimin looks at her blankly. She buys a flip phone and hands over the phone to Jimin.
"For me. No, no…"
"I know you're worried about me today. That's why you went to Jenny in the first place, looking for me. Take this phone. Give me a call if you're worried." Aera said, a grin on her face.
The next day, Bo-ra was drinking coffee in the cafeteria at his workplace while Han-na was staring at her in a secretive manner. Bo-ra takes a look around and notices that someone is staring at her.
Suddenly, he hid behind the walls. He looked at her again, but she wasn't there, and his eyes searched for her.
"Where is she? She was eating there."
Bo-ra standing behind Han-na's back, "Are you seeking that girl?" She shows some random girl.
"No, she isn't her. I am looking…" Abruptly stops and turns around. He jerked off, "When did you come?"
"Are you looking for me?"
He laughed out loud, "Hey, why would I be looking for you? You know who I am?"
"OK, then I'm going to toss this purse away," as she says she take out the purse.
"That's mine. I misplaced my purse..." He recalled where he'd left his purse. "Give me my purse." He reaches for his purse.
"Thank you. I looked all over for it. That's why you were following me that day. Don't tell anyone that I was chased by some persons."
"It isn't under my control. That's yours; I never meddled in other people's issues. There was a meeting, Head Kim called you."
Chung, one of the heads of the National Media Organization, convened a meeting. People were seated, Bo-ra and Han-na seated next to each other.
He begins, "You've all been wondering why we're here. Listen carefully, because we're about to go into a serious topic. Mafia…"
Everyone was looking at each other and murmuring.
He continues, "You're all journalists, so you must know about Anderson. He engaged in illegal activities such as arms dealing, counterfeiting, money laundering, illegal bars, and so on."
"From the street-corner drug trade to the highest levels of authority, he has a firm grip on everything. However, no one has ever seen him. He does all of his business on the 'Lighthouse ship,' which is a casino cruise. He came to land only if it was for vital business. Otherwise, he'll be stuck in the sea."
"He came to land in 2017 for a major deal in one of his bars. A feud erupted between two the gangs. There was also a bomb explosion. After then, no one heard anything about Anderson. Anderson's files have been closed."
"Then why are we opening this case now?" Some of the employees at the meeting asked.
Head Chung smiled as he continued to show some guy photos during the presentation. "His name is Lee Dae-yeon, and he was a criminal investigation bureau employee in 2012. He handled all of Anderson's criminal records up until the 2017 Dutch club blast. He was the one who saw Anderson's face. After 2017, he moved to the states to serve as a foreign affairs bureaucrat."
"He is the one who is recklessly determined on apprehending Anderson. Now he's back in Korea, this time as the Crime Branch. He hasn't shown up for the past five years. But he's back now." Head Chung is staring at everyone.
Han-na gives some thought and says, "Perhaps Anderson has been showing up again." Bo-ra gives him an unexpected glance.
"I believe so, but I'm not certain. That is something you're going to find. This project will be assigned to the Ye-Jin team. Your team must take care of Mr. Lee's whereabouts." He said, looking at Ye-jin.
"And, Bo-ra, I'm impressed that you recently reported on a major drug trafficking case. So I'm going to make you lead the work with Han-na. Han-na is a fearless and courageous person. We're going to start over. This time we're going to reveal the world Anderson's face."
The sports festival begins at Aera's working college. A large number of college students arrived. There were so many people. Aera and Eugene were frantically planning events.
Football match started, Shin's team was playing well. But the opposite team deliberately hit Shin's team while playing. There was one students legs were fractured.
Aera arrived at the stadium and observed the games as well as the forgery. She went to the opposing team's P.E.T master. "Stop the match. What exactly are you up to? This is what the students learned from you."
He chuckled, "Yes, I taught this to my students. However, you are not taught them properly. So they failed miserably. Why don't you come to our place with your students? Wait a minute, you first come. I'll teach you. Then—"
Eugene appeared out of nowhere and slapped him. He shouted, "Are you stupid? How dare you hit me? Wait and see, what am I going to do?"
Eugene laughed, "What? What are you gonna do? Stop the event? Just go for it. That is something I would like too." Aera gives her a cold gaze.
He cried, "Sports event cancelled."
Outside the principal's office, Aera and Eugene are waiting. Aera is staring at her strangely. Eugene sits calmly with his arms and legs crossed.
"Stop it, you are annoying… " Eugene looked at Aera, "What?"
"How did you manage to beat him? Are you stupid? You are the one who is adamant about winning. But..."
"Yes. I want them to perform hard work, not put up with others fraud work. Don't worry, I'm sure my father will only suspend us for ten days."
For a few moments, both were deafeningly quiet. Eugene burst out laughing. "Why are you laughing? You used to scare me, but now you scare me a lot."
"You said that you know about me. You know that too, I always pretend like I am happy and came from a decent family. But that's not true. Everyone thinks that my father helped me get this position. But I've gotten this far because of my effort. Anyone could easily say that from the outside."
"My father never helped me. When we are young, I envy you, because you are free. You have no boundaries, have no father and mother on your side. That's why I teased you a lot."
"Later then, I know that you, like me, are alone in your life. But I can't stop taunting you, now, too." Eugene chuckled, Aera surprisingly, looking at her.
"We all want the perfect family, but no one's family is perfect."
Aera and Eugene went to the principal's office and received a suspension letter. Aera emerged from college with a thoughtful expression on her face, while Jimin waits outside for her and waves his hand.
He saw her face as they walked together. "Are you okay?"
Aera hands over the letter. Anderson read out the letter, "Suspension…! What happened? Why suspension?"
"Today's sports festival has been cancelled because of me."
He curiously looked at her.
"It's okay. Even in my college days, I never received a suspension. So I am gonna take a long rest for 10 days."
"But, you're not looking down because of it, right?" Jimin asked inquisitively.
"Yesss... I think so… I miss something; perhaps I miss my father, who I haven't seen in a few years. Or maybe I'm just tired of my job. Don't know."
Both of them went home. Jimin stared at her while Aera slept. He talk himself, "You always speak as much, today too. But, today your words are laced with anxiety. Is it because of today's event or are you really missing your home? What I'm supposed to do to bring a smile on your face?"
The next day, Aera was lying on the sofa, watching TV with snacks in her hands. Jimin is preparing himself. He grabs the remote from Aera's hand and turns it off. "Get ready."
"Where?" She asked sadly, "I am on suspension."
"I too know. Now we're going to your hometown."
"What? No, no…, what if my father sees us? He easily get enraged. We are…"
"If he sees us, there will be a problem. We'll catch a glimpse of your parents face from afar."
"Really," Aera smiled.
Jenny is sitting in a yoga class with a glum expression on her face while everyone else is practicing yoga. The yoga master said, "Everyone close your eyes, take a long breath in and breathe out..."
"It's so annoying. How long am I gonna sit like this? My mother told me that I am very impatient, which is why I came out of my mom's belly in 7 months. But here I can't even concentrate for 2 minutes."
"Breathe in, breathe out…" She kept hearing the words again and again.
Aera and Jimin visited Aera's hometown. She show's him her farms, "My parents are florists, and they nurture flowers. All of these are our fields." Both of them are hidden behind flower pots. That place was brimming with numerous flowers.
"Mom, mom… She's my mother. That red hatted woman with a blue shirt is my mom." She shows her mother to Jimin excitingly, while Jimin smiles and looks at her.
"My father isn't here. Come on, let's check out that side." Aera amusingly moved behind flower pots. "Father isn't here either, Jimin, so why are you so quiet?' She whirled back to face him, but he was nowhere to be found.
She move forward, her mother standing infront of her, pinching Jimin's ear. Aera gets shocked, "Sorry mom. I'm missing you so badly, so I came here. Leave him, he's my friend."
"How are you?" When Aera's mother asked, she hugged her.
"I am fine. Are you both fine? Is your leg pain under control?"
Aera's mom smiled at her, "Yes, we both are fine. But why didn't you go to college? Is it today off?"
"No, I got a suspension."
Aera's mom curiously asked, "What happened?"
"It's no big deal. Just a small suspension. Ahh... I forgot. This is Jimin, my friend."
Aera's mom greeted Jimin. She continued, "Don't tell father, that we are here. Please mom… Where is father? I haven't noticed him around here. Is he at home?"
Aera's mother began to sweat and tremble in her hands. "Just leave Aera. If your father find out, he will get angry easily. He is in the middle of a meeting with a group of wholesale florists. So just go."
"Please mom. I'll look at him from afar. Just 1 minutes mom. Please…" Aera begged her mom. Then she halfheartedly let her go.
While Aera went home, Jimin waited for her on the streets. Through the windows, Aera could see his father. Her father was dressed casually in a t-shirt and shorts, and he sat in a chair with his legs crossed. While several black-clad individuals stood politely besides him. Aera is giving her father an odd look.
Then she went to Jimin. He asked, "Had you seen your father? Has he been doing well?"
"Yes, he's fine." Aera's expression is perplexing. She didn't pay attention to Jimin's conversation. She pondered, "Why did my mother look so afraid, when I asked about father?" She remembers her mother's face.
"Why did my father looks so strange? Who are they? Why are they standing infront of my father when he is seated?"
"At some point in our lives, we have the impression that our closest person suddenly changed into someone completely different. That's how I feel today, when I look at my father and mother."