“Pardon me?” that was about as intelligent of a question as she could ask at this moment.

  “Do you need me to come stay with you? Your mother can’t as she would nag you to death and try to set up a marriage proposal while she is there.” An outraged squawk in the background. “Oh, hush. You know it’s true. And your brother is worthless, too. The only thing he could save you from is extra beer.”

  Seulgi could not help but ugh at this. Even her brother said, “That’s true.”

  “So, do you need me to stay with you?”

  “Father dear, I might have to take you up on that. But, at the moment, we have things set up for all of us to go pces that are either very public or in pairs at the minimum. So, I don’t need you just yet. But, if things break down here, you’ll be the first I’ll call.”

  Truth be told, she’d call Bhuwakul first, but she couldn’t tell her father that. However, if things go so bad that not even Bhuwakul could help, her father would be the first she’d call. She surprised herself by finding that while nearly thirty years old, she was still her daddy’s little girl. She found that she was surprisingly happy by that. So, she bent the truth just a little. Only a little.

  Then she thought about what would happen if her father walked in and found Bhuwakul sitting in her living room, reading a book. Her father might be nonplussed about it until she expined what was going on, but her mother would fly into a screeching rage until she found out who he was and why he was there. Her brother wouldn’t care. He’d bee-line to the fridge to see what beer was there.

  “So, that is what I can tell you about what’s going on. Go ahead and ask what you like, but understand that there are things I cannot and will not share. This is as much what the police have told me what I can share and for just as much your protection.”

  To everyone’s surprise, her brother spoke first. “Ya know, yeodongsaeng, your bedroom is still yours, if you need a pce to run to, that is. Your oppa will look after you.”

  Seulgi nearly dropped her tea. Her brother? Being helpful? Being NICE?! She was instantly on her guard. With a frowning face full of suspicion, she nearly said something unforgivable, but her father spoke first, “He’s right, you know. If you want to come home, your room is just as you left it. Only dusted.” A soft, warm chuckle came over the distant line. He continued in that same warm, dusty voice, “You may not believe it, but we actually do miss you greatly here. Not only us but all four of your grandparents. You still have friends in your age group as well that think highly of you.”

  She thanked them with the warmth of every fiber of her being but turned them down anyway. “If this person knows where I used to live, that might put you guys in danger. I am not willing to do that. It would have to be an absolute st resort.”

  Her father hummed in understanding.

  Her mother asked another question that surprised everyone present.

  “How are you, Seulgi? This whole situation must be terrible on you, mentally, physically, emotionally.”

  Taken aback, Seulgi took a moment to think to answer seriously. How was she? Was she the “Okay” that she keeps telling everyone, including herself? She decided to tell her family the truth.

  “Mother, in all honestly, no. I am not alright. I am scared silly. I have no idea what I am doing. I have no idea why I have to do it. I have no idea why this person is focused on me. I am lost, I am scared, I am alone. However, I have some fantastic friends here. I have friends who are family. While, I feel alone, as I mentioned, I can call any one of them and they will be here within an hour of my dialing the phone. There are also the apartment guards to look after me as well. I get along with them fairly well. (She had no idea how vast an understatement that was.)”

  She went back and forth with them for about an hour. Nearly every question was serious. There was some humor in the questions, but nothing outrageous. There was only one question near the beginning from her brother that received a full sp from both her mother and father, at the same time. After that, it was all business.

  Seulgi did her best to reassure them. She tried to downpy what she could, where she could, as well, so they would not worry.

  Her father threatened to just show up if they did not hear from her consistently anyway. Every day would be too much, but every other day, just check in, not full conversations like this. But, an update on what’s going on would be enough.

  Seulgi was not used to the emotional turmoil that her family brought while being helpful. She found herself becoming weary. She had crossed a line and had no more energy to stay awake. She begged off any further conversation for the day as she was fading. She needed her sleep, and it was going to happen whether she wanted to or not.

  She ended the call with her family. She then called Suki in as she was going to shut the door. There would still be a beam of sunlight on the inside, just filtered through the window. She would be OK with that.

  Suki, instead, chose to follow her human into the bedroom, getting in the way of Seulgi’s stumbling feet, and nearly tripping her. A few times. She received a good kick, once for her trouble. Suki didn’t take it personally as this was not the first time for this to happen. She would get some good sympathy pets for it ter.

  Seulgi stumbled like a George Romero zombie into her room. She got her shirt off and that was it. She was unconscious before her head hit