Page 214 of Scarbound

“At first.” Jun’s mouth tightened. “Then I asked when Noeul had requested it.”

“What did he say?”

“He avoided the question.”

Duri’s grip tightened around his phone.

“What bothered me more was how little concern he showed,” Jun continued. “Noeul disappears in the middle of an important project, and Chung-Hee acts as though it’s completely ordinary.”

Duri looked away.

Noeul’s message. The sudden leave. Three days without work. Three days without Ji-Woo.

Chung-Hee.

Still, he resisted the conclusion. “Maybe Noeul told him something he didn’t tell us.”

“Possible.”

“Maybe they argued.”

“Also possible.”

Duri swallowed. “Maybe Noeul is with him.”

Jun’s eyes lifted.

Neither man spoke. The possibility sat between them.

Duri’s heart began to beat harder. “He wouldn’t stay with him voluntarily for three days without telling Ji-Woo.”

Jun’s expression darkened. “No.”

“And Lee Chung-Hee has his apartment keys.”

Jun looked at him. “How do you know that?”

“Ji-Woo told me before.”

Another piece.

Duri felt cold despite the heat behind the bar. “I don’t like this.”

“Neither do I.”

“I hate saying this about your friend.” Jun’s expression tightened, and Duri chose his words carefully. “But if Noeul is with him and hasn’t been allowed to contact anyone…”

He couldn’t finish.

Jun did. “Then he may not be there by choice.”

Duri looked at him.

A familiar voice came from behind them. “I think the same thing.”

They turned.

Ji-Woo stood several steps away. He looked as though he had run most of the way from wherever he had been. His face was pale.