Chapter 95 - The Lie Before the Operation

Yeon Joo's mother knew something was wrong before she finished opening the bedroom door. The curtains were still partly drawn against the morning light, the blanket had been pushed toward one side of the bed and the clothes Yeon Joo had worn earlier remained folded across the back of a chair, yet there was no sign of her daughter anywhere in the room. She stepped farther inside and called Yeon Joo's name once toward the bathroom, then again while crossing toward the small balcony, hoping to hear an irritated answer telling her that she was worrying unnecessarily. When nothing came back, the uneasy feeling in her chest sharpened into the same fear she had carried the last time Yeon Joo disappeared without any explanation.