Title: You Said You'd Never Leave
Day: Whumptober Day 10
Prompt: "Can you see that you're lost without me?" Broken phone/Stranded/"You said you'd never leave."
Fandom: Mystic Messenger
Word Count: 2584
Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl
Rating: T
Characters: Jumin Han, Jaehee Kang
Warning: NA
Summary: When Jaehee doesn't show up for work on Monday, Jumin is, naturally, concerned. Couple that with a disagreement the Friday before, and then a natural disaster, and Jumin starts to realize just how important Jaehee is in his life.
Notes: This takes place post-the original game, although I had no particular route in mind. Just a sort of loose amalgamation where they all in up in better situations, and MC just ends up as friends with them all. Saeren is not mentioned because, honestly, he's not that important to Jumin at this time.
You Said You'd Never Leave
"Where is she?" Jumin Han's gaze was laser focused on the employee in front of him, watching as the man paled and began to sweat.
"W-we don't know, sir," he stammered out.
"And why don't you know?" Jumin said again, his voice cold.
The employee looks as if he'd rather be any place but there. He shook his head. "We—we sent someone over to Assistant Kang's apartment to check on her, b-but no one answered. The employee that went got the landlord, explaining why we were concerned. When—when we went inside, Assistant Kang wasn't there. N-neither w-was her purse or suitcase. It looked like she, um, like she left, sir."
Jumin's eyes narrowed. "Then find out where she went and bring her back," he demanded.
The employee only looked more nervous. "We're-we're trying. B-but with the recent disaster things are harder."
Jumin stood to his full height and leaned over his desk, eyes snapping with anger. "Harder isn't impossible. Find her."
The employee jumped. "Y-yes, sir!" he said and scurried out of the room.
It was only once the door had closed that Jumin sat down and let out a heavy breath. He was… worried. Assistant Kang had never been late for work. The few times she had become ill or there had been a delay, she had let him know immediately. This time, however, there was radio silence, and Jumin didn't know what to do about that. He never should have let her leave on Friday as she did. Jumin sighed and put his head in his hand as he thought about it.
"What is this?" Jumin looked up from the paper that was on his desk.
"A vacation request, sir," Assistant Kang said.
"I can see that," Jumin replied. "But why have you put one in?"
"I do not believe that I am required to answer that," Assistant Kang answered.
"No," he said, frowning, "you are not. But neither am I required to grant it."
Assistant Kang stood there for a moment before she spoke again. "I need two guaranteed days off. I require them for a personal matter. Therefore, I have put in for this weekend."
Jumin's frown grew. He knew of no personal matter that she had coming up—and he knew a great deal about Assistant Kang "We have several projects coming due next week," he said. "As well as research for a new cat themed shopping store to conduct."
"I will have all of the work for C&R's business projects completed," she said. "As for the cat project, I will attend to it when I get back."
Jumin stood, taking the form and folding it over. "Request denied," he said. "We have work to do."
Assistant Kang's shoulder's squared slightly. "Then I will take sick days," She immediately shot back.
"Those are only for when you are unwell, Assistant Kang," Jumin said.
"Sir, not to be disrespectful, but if I do not have some time off, then I will be unwell." Her words were professional, but her tone was sharp and cutting. "I need time off, and all I am asking for is two days—two days in which most of our employees are already off." Her gaze met his, steely in its resolve. "Whether it's vacation days or sick days, I am taking them. After this Friday, I will see you on Monday, sir."
Jumin frowned, her brashness raising his own stubbornness. True, they had been closer lately, and had a more open working relationship, but there were still lines—and Jumin felt that this was one of them. "Assistant Kang, this is unprofessional," he said.
She paused in the door. "I am sorry, Mr. Han. But this is something that I must do."
Jumin had been fuming, and he had been sure that she knew it. He had thrown work at her, given her assignments and been extra cold to her. And yet, she hadn't budged. And now? Now it was Monday, and she was nowhere to be found.
However, if he could not locate her, there might still be someone else who could. The others on the messenger had, of course, heard about the little altercation that he and Assistant Kang had, and they had not been happy with him or his response. They had, in fact, been supportive of her, and he had, admittedly, sulked over it. He had, in return, stayed mostly off of the messenger over the weekend.
But now was not the time for hurt pride. Not when she was missing. Not when one of them might have a vital piece of information that could help.
Jumin Han has logged on.
ZEN: Well, well, if it isn't Mr. Slave Driver himself. Come to tell us that you're holding Jaehee hostage?
Yoosung: :O
Yoosung: Do you really think he'd do that?
707: Hm, sources indicate that he'd be the type to do that to a lovely young woman XD
Yoosung: O_o
ZEN: …that is not something I want to think about. Gross.
MC: Is Jaehee doing alright, Jumin? We've not heard from her in a few days.
Jumin Han: That is why I'm here. Have any of you heard from Assistant Kang?
ZEN: What do you mean? Wasn't she supposed to come back today?
Jumin Han: She was. However, she has not returned.
Jumin Han: I sent people over to her apartment, but they report that she was not home and that her suitcase was gone.
Jumin: No one seems to know where she went.
707: …
707: I'm on it.
MC: I hope she's all right.
Yoosung: Me too :(
Jumin Han: Please let me know when you have any information.
707: Right.
Jumin Han has logged off.
Jumin put his phone down. If anyone could find her, it would be Luciel. He was most thorough. Besides, there was nothing more that Jumin could do. He had put all of his pieces into place. Now he just had to wait for results.
For the next few hours, Jumin attended to business as best he could. It took two assistants to replace Assistant Kang for the day, and they were still less efficient than she was, especially with the relief efforts C&R was sending to the disaster site. It didn't help that he was distracted by his worry for Assistant Kang. As the day stretched on, his worry grew, and not just for his assistant, but for his friend.
Jumin was loathe to admit it, but he had few friends. Jihyun was one of his only true friends and Rika had been as well, although now Rika was in a rehabilitation center and Jihyun was in seclusion. But over the years, although their relationship was professional, Jumin and Assistant Kang—Jaehee—had become closer.
In his mind, they were friends, of a sort. She was always there when he needed her, and she was almost always by his side. She wasn't afraid to call him out on things, although she was often quite tactful in how she did it. She worried over him. He, likewise, tried to be there when she needed it, although he could admit he did a very poor job of that. He had, since MC had come along and made him realize a few things, tried not to overwork Jaehee, and he had always worried about her, often sending her food on long workdays and working just as hard as her when it came to overtime. He'd tried his hardest to be a better boss.
Except…
Except he hadn't been doing that recently, had he? He had promised her that he would change things, and for a while he had. It had even made for an easier relationship between the two of them. She had confessed to him that she had been thinking about leaving C&R and striking out on her own, but after he had adjusted her working conditions, she had said that she was quite happy and didn't want to leave. Jumin had been pleased.
And then he had fallen back into old patterns. He could see that now, and mentally cursed himself for it. What if this had been the last straw for her? She had needed time off, and he had denied it. What if she had left, even after saying that she wouldn't? What if she was leaving?
The idea hit Jumin harder than he wanted to admit. Jaehee had become a cornerstone, a foundational piece in his world. With his mother and father going back to their on again, off again relationship and the void left by Rika and Jihyun, Jaehee had become a stable, steady presence in his life, and one that he didn't want to lose. She'd said she wouldn't leave. But what if he had driven her away? The idea set off a bit of panic in him, even if he'd never admit to it.
Jumin's phone beeped, interrupting his thoughts, and he pulled it out, seeing a message from the chat. He quickly logged on.
Jumin Han has logged on.
Jumin Han: You have news for me?
707: Yes, but it's not good news.
MC: Oh no.
Yoosung: Is Jaehee alright?!
ZEN: What did you find out?
707: I traced Jaehee's phone and followed that up with other means to see where she went.
707: She got on a train Friday night.
707: Did you hear about that flood and mudslide that happened?
Jumin Han: I did.
707: …
ZEN: Seven, what aren't you telling us?
707: That's the last place I tracked her phone to. It went offline about that time. And I've not found any other trace of her since.
Jumin put his phone down. He could feel it vibrating with the others' comments, hear the ding of messages, but he felt like he couldn't breathe. Yes, he knew about that. A dam had burst, causing massive amounts of flooding, and creating mudslides on top of that. It had happened over the weekend—over the time that Jaehee was gone. There were thousands dead. They were still trying to perform as many rescues as possible. C&R had sent what help they could to the area.
Would one of those find Jaehee Kang? Would they turn up her body and send it back? Would she have died alone, as she feared?
His phone gave a large buzz, and Jumin looked back down at it. Apparently, the others had been trying to get his attention.
Jumin Han: Apologies. I was… taking in the news.
707: I'm going to keep looking, alright? Until we know one way or another, I won't give up.
MC: I'm going to go pray for her.
ZEN: I might go visit a temple.
Yoosung: Can I come with you?
ZEN: Yeah, sure. I'll come pick you up.
Jumin Han: I will keep my resources looking as well.
Jumin Han: Thank you.
Jumin Han has logged off.
Jumin sat back and took a deep breath. There was no evidence yet that Jaehee was dead. So, until he had information to the contrary, he would keep believing that she was alive. That, however, was easier said than done. The next two days passed slowly, especially as no word came of Jaehee. Jumin worked, but it was obvious that all of C&R was waiting with bated breath to see what word would come. All of the RFA tried to keep their spirits up, but it grew harder each day they went without any word about her.
And then, suddenly, Jumin's office phone rang. He picked it up only to have a very excited and panicked employee on the other end, saying that Jaehee had appeared in the lobby of the building. Jumin immediately hung up and practically ran to the elevator, heading down to the lobby as fast as he could. An employee was waiting by it, pointing Jumin towards Jaehee, not that she was hard to find. There was a small group gathered around her, although they parted to let Jumin through.
"Assistant Kang," he said.
She looked up at him, and it was all he could do not to pull back in surprise. She looked rough. Her hair was messy, looking as though it had been, at best, finger combed, and she had lost her glasses. Her clothes had dirt and mud on them, and her shoes were covered. Her suitcase was banged up and dirty, and she looked exhausted.
"Get her something to drink," he said. "Call my personal doctor. Get Driver Kim to bring my car around," he ordered. People jumped to do as he said, and he turned back to Jaehee. "Assistant Kang, what happened? We thought that you were caught in the floods."
Jaehee accepted the water that someone brought her gratefully.
"Almost," she said. "I left on Friday night to travel to the city my father was from. I was going to visit my parents' graves. I was on the other side when the dam broke, and the floods hit. It damaged the tracks and the roads, leaving me stranded. The cell service was impacted, too, and prevented me calling. By the time it was restored, it was reserved for emergency services only. I still tried to call, but in the process my phone was broken. After that, it was a series of complicated events involving being bussed and shuttled from place to place with other displaced individuals."
"But how did you end up here?" one of the employees asked.
"They were trying to find ways for us to get home, and it was taking far too long. I knew that C&R was closer, so I came here first," Jaehee said. "I thought I would go home afterwards."
"Absolutely not," Jumin said. "You are going to be checked out by my doctor before anything else."
"Driver Kim is here!" Someone called.
"Help me get her and her things to the car," Jumin said. "Cancel all my appointments for the day."
"You don't have to do that—" Jaehee said, but she stumbled as she stood.
"Yes, I do," Jumin said firmly as he caught her.
Jaehee was escorted to the car, and Driver Kim drove them to the penthouse. Jumin's doctor was waiting for them there, where he gave Jaehee a thorough check up, prescribing rest, fluids, and food for the next week. While the doctor was busy with that, Jumin loaded the chat.
Jumin Han has entered the chat.
MC: Jumin! Any news?
Jumin Han: Yes. Assistant Kang has returned.
Yoosung: She has? That's great!
ZEN: Is she okay?
Jumin Han: My personal doctor is looking her over. However, he says that rest is the best thing for her now. She'll have a week off.
707: Good for her!
Jumin Han: She has also broken her phone, so do not expect her on the messenger until her phone is replaced.
Jumin Han: I will pass your well wishes onto her.
Jumin Han has logged off.
Jumin looked up from the phone, watching as his staff worked on making sure that Jaehee was cared for and settled in one of his guest bedrooms, and breathed a sigh of relief. Jaehee was fine. She was safe, back where she belonged, and she hadn't left.
However, as he walked to her room, to make sure that she was comfortable and had all that she needed, Jumin made a promise, if only to himself. He was going to be a better boss—and a better friend.
He'd make sure of it.