The Captain’s Forbidden Girl

ChapterTwo

Ha-eun woke up the next morning with the image of the drugs in Seo-jun’s backpack still fresh in her mind.

She had barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she found herself thinking about the packets she had discovered in his room. She needed answers, but with Seo-jun nowhere to be found, she didn’t know where to begin.

After getting dressed, she grabbed her bag and headed to the police station. If she couldn’t reach her brother, she would at least report his disappearance and ask for help finding him.

An officer listened as she explained that she had been unable to reach Seo-jun since the previous day. He hadn’t answered her calls or replied to her message.

“When did you last speak to him?” the officer asked.

“Before yesterday. I’ve been calling him since yesterday, but he hasn’t answered.” Her voice faltered. “He always calls me back, even when he’s busy. This isn’t like him.”

The officer glanced at his records before looking at her again.

“You’ll need to wait until twenty-four hours have passed before we can take a missing-person report.”

Ha-eun stared at him. “So I’m supposed to do nothing until then?”

“I understand that you’re worried, but we have procedures to follow. If you discover evidence that he’s in immediate danger, contact us straightaway.”

She left the station feeling frustrated. She had hoped the police would help her find Seo-jun, but instead, she had been told to wait.

She wasn’t going to waste the time she had.

Back home, Ha-eun opened her laptop and searched for information about the drugs she had found in her brother’s backpack. She started with the details she could remember about the packaging, hoping to identify what she had seen.

After several searches, she came across an online forum where people discussed the drug. Pretending to be a potential buyer, she asked about its price and how people obtained it.

The answers left her stunned.

The drug was extremely expensive, far beyond what an ordinary student could afford. As she continued reading, she discovered that it was particularly popular among wealthy students at Myeongseong High School.

Ha-eun stared at the screen.

Seo-jun had never had that kind of money. He was careful with what little he had, and she knew how much he had been working towards their future.

He could never have afforded something so expensive.

Her gaze drifted from the screen to the empty space beside her laptop.

If Seo-jun hadn’t bought the drugs himself, how had they ended up in his backpack?

A troubling thought crept into her mind.

Someone might have put them there.

Ha-eun sat back, her heart beating faster. She didn’t know who would want to frame her brother or why, but the possibility made her even more anxious about his disappearance.

Before she could think further, her mother called her into the living room.

“Myeongseong contacted me,” her mother said.

Ha-eun looked up immediately. “Did they hear anything about Seo-jun?”

“No. They called about his absence.”

“What did they say?”

Her mother hesitated. “They said his continued absence could put his scholarship at risk. If he doesn’t return to school or provide a valid explanation, they may revoke it.”

Ha-eun stared at her in disbelief.

“Revoke his scholarship? But he’s missing!”

“I explained that we haven’t been able to reach him, but the school has attendance requirements. They need an explanation for his absence.”

“An explanation?” Ha-eun’s voice rose. “He worked so hard for that scholarship, and now they’re threatening to take it away because he isn’t there?”

“Ha-eun, I know how much this means to him.”

“Then they should understand that something is wrong!”

Her voice cracked. She turned away, blinking rapidly as tears blurred her vision.

The university they had dreamed of attending together suddenly felt further away than ever. While nobody knew where Seo-jun was, the future he had worked so hard for was slipping out of reach.

Ha-eun clenched her fists.

Then her eyes fell on the laptop resting on the coffee table.

The expensive drug.

The discussions she had read online.

Myeongseong High School.

Her fingers slowly uncurled.

She had been so focused on the drugs themselves that she hadn’t considered what their connection to the school might mean. If the drug was circulating among Myeongseong’s wealthy students, perhaps someone there knew more than they were willing to admit.

Her gaze drifted towards her mother.

“Myeongseong,” she murmured.

“What about it?” her mother asked.

Ha-eun didn’t answer.

Her heartbeat quickened as the pieces began to fall into place. Seo-jun had disappeared, the drugs had been found among his belongings, and the school was threatening to revoke his scholarship.

She slowly lifted her head.

The tears in her eyes dried as her expression changed. Her lips curved into the faintest smile, but there was nothing warm about it. A glint appeared in her eyes as she lowered her gaze, as though a dangerous thought had just taken shape.

Her mother watched her, puzzled by the sudden change.

Ha-eun said nothing.

She had an idea.