Chapter 3 - Home

The sun is still roaring on the vast blue sky, flocks of birds fly freely. The plane AK-3091 lands on the ground, all passengers have awakened by the announcement inside it. One of them was of course – Jun. Jun opened the cabinet that was above her and took out her medium sized bag. Once the plane is safely located at the opened gate, the flight's passenger begins to walk out the plane row by row. 'It's Korea.' Jun thought as she looked outside the window. It was her row next, she stood up and left the half empty plane immediately.

She waited for her luggage to pass the security, then, she could take them. Walking outside casually, she looks for someone who she has to meet. More like, she needs to find the person first. She did remember that the person will hold up a banner with her name on it so it would be easier for her to look for the person. She walks slowly, meticulously analyzing each person who was holding a cardboard or paper. She passed through some group of people crying with each other – she thought it was quite an overwhelming moment.

"Jun!" The petite woman could hear someone calling for her name.

"Jun!" Again, someone was calling her. Jun looked around at her surroundings to know where the voice came from. Again, the same voice shouted her name, it came from not far behind her. She turned around and saw a person holding a piece of cloth with her name on it. The person smiled and was holding the clothing up high, calling her to come. After seeing that, Jun walks towards the man in a suit casually, trying to pass through the sudden wave of crowds.

"Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you. I will be helping you today. I am Kim Woonsik." The five-foot, ten inches man spoke to her and held out his hand to shake her hands.

"Nice to meet you too, I am Jun. Please take care of me for today." Jun accepts his greetings.

"You've got your luggage and everything, miss?" Jun nodded.

The man smiles "Well, then. Let's go to the headquarter first." Both of them walked out from the airport, a taxi was their ride. It was at first very awkward, then the man spoke.

"How does it feel to come back to Korea?" he asks.

"Ah, well. I am quite excited, but I don't really know what I am feeling at the moment."

"I understand, the chief told me that you have lost your memory. Do you know where your family lives? Or your relatives, friends." Woonsik asks her while he looks at her curiously. Jun shook her head as a no.

"That is sad, but don't worry. You will find them soon." The man felt bad for her, again he smiles at Jun who was paying attention outside the window. The woman let out a small smile, the man who's assisting her is quite a gentleman. She continued to stare outside, looking at the sky that is starting to change its color from blue to orange. The next thing she knew, she had arrived at the headquarter.

It is six in the evening, Jun made her way home to her old apartment. She was not alone of course, Kim Woonsik is accompanying her. She was told that she is in South Korea and she was informed that the police couldn't locate her family or relatives location. She recalls the incident that happened at the headquarters.

"You must be Jun. Now, let us discuss this issue. I don't want to waste my time so I will get this straight." Jun sat in front of the man who looked young, he must not be less than a forty-year-old. The man looked her in the eye, his gaze was intimidating. Jun felt uncomfortable being stared at, so she started to fidget. Then, the man began to speak.

"It appears that we don't have any files or any information about you. From what we checked, it seems that you are related or involved in a case." Jun listens to him. "Say, you have been in a coma for 5 years. Five years ago, there was a case where secret societies had been roaming and manipulating our cities and streets." Hearing this, Jun tilted her head in question.

"All documents and information were taken down by those Mafias, not a bit were left behind. The police and detectives who were involved in this case, got killed. None of them survived." The man interlaced his hands and was silent for a moment. He let out a breath and then continued.

"5 years ago, you were the one who led the mission to take down the Mafias and Yakuza. But you failed, you may not remember this. In 1990, there was a report that a jet had illegally flown from here. It was believed that you were in that jet." The woman remembered the American man had told her about this. The person opposite her rubbed his temples, Jun guessed that he's been stressed out lately.

"Don't worry, we hide the fact that you're back. However, I assure you to be careful. If the secret societies know that you are still alive, they might try to take you down. Well, you have lost your memories, so I hope they will not hunt you down. You are welcomed anytime to start your job again, if you want that is." Jun let out a shivering long breath that she has been holding for too long.

"Please give me time to think about the job, I-"

"I understand that you are confused, and that you are trying to process all the information I have told you. Like I said, you are welcomed anytime." Jun pursed her chapped lips.

"Don't worry, luckily we were able to find your old apartment. The agencies had cleaned the place for you, be comfortable and be safe. If there is a problem, feel free to ask for help from Kim Woonsik. I have appointed him to help you. Well then, do you have any questions? Miss Jun."

"Not even my birth date and name? You guys couldn't find any information about me other than about my apartment?"

The man shook his head, "I apologize, we could not obtain any personal information about you. Let's just pray that your memories will come back."

The last sentence plays over and over again in Jun's mind like a broken cassette. Her memories, what if they don't come back? Jun furrowed her eyebrows with that thought. Woonsik on the other hand, is accompanying her to her old apartment. When he was about to speak, Jun's stomach growled in hunger. The last time she ate was during her journey to South Korea. Woonsik laughs lightly.

"Let's stop at the convenience store, I don't want you to starve." Jun turned her head away. The car stopped in front of a 7/11 store. The neon lights flickered, it looked like an old store. Jun got out and waited for Woonsik. Both of them entered the store with Woonsik leading her, he grabbed almost anything that got his attention. Jun doesn't know what to eat, she was unfamiliar with the wraps and cups in the racks.

"Want me to choose it for you?" Jun's company noticed how troubled she was, so he helped her. Jun nodded. Woonsik told her to wait at the table in front of the store, just to sit there. Sitting on the cold chair, she stares at the cashier who was busy playing with his phone.

'Boring.' Jun thought. She turned around to see an advanced coffee brewing machine. She wondered if the machine could make those green drinks when she drank in America. Woonsik is done with paying the instant food he just bought, he brings the big plastic bag to the table where Jun was waiting. He takes out noodle cups, coke and bread.

"Wait here, I'm gonna cook them first. You can drink first though, I don't mind."

"Okay." Jun takes out a tin of coke and opens it. Slowly, she sips them. The carbonated drink burns her tongue, then she takes a big gulp. She regretted this decision quickly, the liquid travels down her throat is like an acid instead. Five minutes waiting, Woonsik came back to the table. He was actually not far from Jun, just around three feet away from her.

"Here we go, instant ramen. Eat it while it's hot, it's delicious." He smiled at Jun and started to slurp the noodles. He was almost finished at his second bite. Jun takes a whiff before eating, it smells appetizing. She takes her chopsticks and starts to eat. 'Sour and salty' She thought, but it was perfect for a late dinner. She continued to eat quietly while Woonsik was already on his second cup of noodles. He really is a big eater or maybe he was starving.

The meal was simple yet it was enjoyable to her, she wondered if she had eaten this before she lost her memories. The tragic incident that happened 5 years ago, it seems like the secret societies still roam around the cities and streets but they rarely make a riot.

They continued their journey to Jun's old apartment, it was a tall building. Eventually, both of them had to take the stairs since her apartment is not on the higher floors, it was on the third floor. So why not burn some calories.

After 5 minutes of climbing the stairs, they finally arrived at the third floor. Her room is not far from the stairs, not really. They walked straight, turned left and walked straight again. 'Room 210', it was plated on a metal – it's her apartment. She stares blankly at the door, and waits for Woonsik to give her the keys. Unexpectedly, Woonsik takes out the key to her apartment. He smiled at her and proceeded to lock the door open for her. After that, he gives the key to Jun.

"Don't lose it." His advice.

"Yes, I won't." Jun replied, staring at him deeply in the eyes.

"Well then, I will take my leave. Ah, here." Woonsik handed a brown paper bag that he had been carrying. "Inside is a phone for you, and I wrote down my number on a piece of paper. Don't worry, chief is the one that gave it to you. He thought that you might need one." Woonsik scratches his head.

"Well, then. Make yourself comfortable and if you need anything, just call me. See you again, bye." He waved at Jun like a child, a sweet smile formed on his graceful lips. 'He really likes to smile, huh' Jun thought. Jun let out a soft chuckle, she smiled and waved back at him. She closed the door as soon as Woonsik immediately out of sight, she made sure she locked the door. There were lots of locks on her door which is convenient.

She walked around her apartment and saw some picture frames on the coffee table, she took them and saw a picture of herself with a guy she doesn't recognize. Judging by the way she held the man, it seems that they were close. Jun was rubbing the man's head, his spectacles were off balanced from the bridge of his nose. It looks as if they are best friends, another thing she noticed is the badge that she had in the picture. It is true that she is a policeman.

All those involved in the case, got killed.

Jun remembered what the 'chief' had said, she wondered if the person next to her got killed too. If he survives however, where could he be hiding? That is impossible of course, is it? Jun puts down the frame and continues looking around the apartment, she notices how clean it was. She likes it. Her office was simple yet elegant. She entered her room, and a queen-sized bed was settled in the middle; facing towards a balcony.

She totally forgot about her luggage. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she stomped out and grabbed her luggage bringing it inside her room. She opened the door of the closet then zipped open the luggage. Brown clothes, Vin gave them to her. Surprisingly, there were already some clothes inside her closet. The shades varied somewhat from grey to blue to purple – mostly grey. She thought that she got some OCD or something but she only shrugged it off.

There was another closet, and she hopes that nothing is in there. She opened it – empty. She was relieved, one by one, she hung all the clothes that Vin had given to her. Mostly was dresses and coats, everything is a matching color except for the shoes. All of them were black in color. After packing up things, Jun stood up and checked all the windows and doors to make sure she had locked it. She was told to be safe after all.

All of them – checked. All is locked, it was half past nine so she decided to check out her office to see if there was something, she could find about her. She opens all cabinets, drawers and shelves to look for some document or a file. She took the ones that she thought were necessary to look at, there were a lot of books in her room; fiction and nonfiction. After she gets all the files, she sits down on her desk and opens them.

The first document she got was about a murder case that happened in 1987, she reads and analyze them carefully. One by one, she read all the documents but there were no single information about her. She was disappointed but not surprised. The woman was told that all the information had disappeared after all. Jun rests her head on the desk and stares at the clock.

Randomly, her hands caressed the under table. Suddenly she felt something rough which caught her attention. She got off her chair and kneels to check what it was. A book was stuck with duct tape. At first, she thought this was funny, because the apartment got cleaned before she was there. She ripped out the duct tape, and took the leathered cover book. She opened it.

It appears to be someone's journal, Jun wondered if it belongs to her. But nothing proves its hers, inside was some drafts about what happened five years ago. There was a date on each page, thank god for anyone who wrote that down. She reads them, each page.

Eyes gouged out.

Hanged on a building publicly.

Organs missing.

Jun wondered if these were all the crimes that the secret societies had done. Secret societies are cruel, sadistic and cold-blooded humans after all. It is possible that these are their doing. However, it is odd to have the journal around here. Wasn't the information about the case disposed of.

Ding, ding, ding. Jun suddenly heard something coming out from her living room, she took a fountain pen and tip-toed her way to where the sound came from. It was from the brown paper bag, her new phone. 'Suspense' she thought. She rummaged through the paper bag and took out her phone from another silk bag. A pink phone landed on her thighs, an unknown number was calling her. Immediately she saw the number from a paper.

She was confused at first on how to use the phone. After a few seconds, she finally figured it out.

"Oh, hello! I thought you weren't going to answer me." Woonsik's voice sounded cheerful as usual.

"Sorry, I was reading something." Jun replied and there was a moment of silence.

"Hello…?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. That was kind of the first time I heard you talking in full sentences. Haha!" Jun made a palm face.

"Well, I was just going to check you out. I hope everything is okay there. Is everything okay there?" He asks.

"Yes, everything is fine." Jun replied in a monotonous tone.

"That is great! I will meet you again tomorrow. Rest well." He was about to hang up, until.

"Woonsik-ah, thank you for today." Jun realized that she didn't thank him today and that was rude of her.

"Oh, no problem! Goodnight." The woman can feel how happy he is after she thanked him, a cheerful guy, really.

"Yes, goodnight." Jun smiles and then he hangs up. Her smile faded away after that, she was thinking if she should tell the chief about the journal. But she scratched that idea off, it's better for her to keep it as a secret first. Finally, she yawned. Reading those documents and files was making her exhausted. She switched off all the lamps except for the small night lamps. Next, she headed to her bedroom with the phone in her hand.

She makes sure the door at the balcony is locked, then she closes the translucent white curtain. The moonlight shone in her dimmed room. She took off all her clothes and changed into her nightgown, a purple lace nightgown. It is lovely. She couldn't stop yawning. Jun suddenly loses her balance and falls into the bed. Letting out a growl, she moved herself up to the pillow like a worm. She was too lazy to stand up.

Once she got her comfortable spot, her eyes closed shut.