The Gate Way

Episode12:The Search

SEO-JOON'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Twelve years later. SEO-JOON is a CEO now, a sharp, powerful man. His apartment is still minimalist, but it is now filled with expensive art and technology. He is sitting on his couch, a glass of whiskey in his hand. He looks tired, the weight of his father's company and his loveless life visible in his face. He is on a laptop, a news article pulled up on the screen. It's a charity event his company is holding in Africa. He scrolls past the details, his eyes bored, until a photo catches his attention.

It's a picture of a young woman being presented with a scholarship check from the Kong Group. The young woman looks familiar. Her face is a perfect mix of Diana’s features and his own. His heart pounds in his chest.

JIN-WOO

(Whispering)

Diana...

He zooms in on the photo. He notices the woman's name is not Diana, but Jina. He continues to search the article, looking for any information on her family, her life, anything. He finds a name of a school and the city she lives in. It is the same city where Diana was living.

THE FLIGHT

A few days later. Seo-joon is on a private jet, flying toward Africa. This time, he is alone. He has a folder on his lap with a picture of Jina and Diana. He looks at them, his face filled with a mixture of hope and fear.

SEO-JOON

(To himself)

I'm sorry, Diana. I should have come back sooner.

He takes a deep breath and looks out the window, a man on a mission. The flight is long, and he has a lot of time to think. He is finally going home, but he is also terrified of what he will find when he gets there.

FADE OUT

LAGOS AIRPORT - DAY

SEO-JOON (30s), now older and hardened, steps off a private jet onto the tarmac of a bustling Nigerian airport. He's wearing simple, unbranded clothes, a stark contrast to his usual suits. He carries a single backpack and a briefcase. He looks around, his face filled with a mixture of determination and trepidation. The air is warm and humid, a memory from a different life. He takes it all in, a man out of place yet finally home.

He gets into a waiting car and gives the driver an address on a small piece of paper—the address of the school from the article.

SCHOOL - DAY

A local school in Lagos. It's a simple, two-story building. Children are playing in the schoolyard, laughing and running. Seo-joon gets out of the car, his heart pounding in his chest. He holds a crumpled photograph of Jina.

He approaches a teacher standing by the gate.

SEO-JOON

Excuse me. I'm looking for a girl named Jina. She would be around 10 or 12 years old.

The teacher looks at him, confused.

TEACHER

Jina? There are many Jinas.

Seo-joon pulls out his phone and shows her the photo of Jina. The teacher's face softens with recognition.

TEACHER

Ah, yes. The scholarship girl. She's not here anymore. She was a very bright student.

Seo-joon heart sinks. He asks for a name of her guardian. The teacher points him in the direction of a local charity organization that helped Jina after her mother's death.

CHARITY OFFICE - DAY

A small, bustling office. Seo-joon is talking to a kind, older woman, the director of the charity. He shows her the photo of Diana and Jina.

SEO-JOON

Please, I need to find her. This is... this is my daughter. And this... this is her mother.

The director looks at the photos, her face a mix of sympathy and sadness.

DIRECTOR

This young lady... her name was Diana. I remember her. She was a wonderful woman, so strong. She was in a terrible accident.

Seo-joon feels the blood drain from his face. He wants to ask what kind of accident, but he can’t. His mouth has gone dry.

DIRECTOR

She was caught in the middle of a protest and a riot. She… she died protecting her daughter.

Jin-Woo stumbles backward, as if he's been hit. The news is devastating, yet not a surprise. A part of him always knew this would be the outcome. The director continues.

DIRECTOR

Her daughter, Jina, was taken to live with a man who cared for them both. He took good care of them. His name was Kofi. He was a close family friend. He moved to the United States a few years ago with Jina to start a new life.

Seo-joon's heart breaks. He was too late. All this time, he was a prisoner, and while he was building his family's empire, his own family was lost to him. The pain is a sharp knife in his chest, but a new mission has started. He has to find Jina. He has to find his daughter.