Saturday morning. Soyu woke up leisurely and looked at the clock with dazed eyes. It was past 9 o’clock. Waking up this late was truly rare for her. She had gotten home at 2 AM last night. They had lost track of time talking. She had coaxed Jinwook, who wanted to stay longer, to go home, but she wondered if he had gotten any sleep.

Driving at such times could be dangerous…. It was fortunate the rain had stopped, but she couldn’t help feeling anxious. As she sat on the bed, the door cracked open slightly, and Yeoul peeked in with just his eyes showing. Soyu smiled.

“Mom’s awake.”

“You’re up?”

Yeoul entered the room, scurrying over and hopping onto the bed. The child nestled in his mother’s arms, nuzzling his face against her and acting spoiled.

“Mom. Good morning. Today you woke up later than me?”

“Yes. Did you sleep well?”

“Didn’t Dad come?”

Soyu smiled awkwardly. The word “Dad” coming from her son’s mouth still felt strange.

“He came and left late last night.”

Yeoul’s eyes widened.

“Really? He should have woken me up.”

“He came too late, so he just saw Mom’s face and left.”

“When is Dad coming?”

“Hmm…. When his work is finished?”

“When will it be finished?”

“Even Dad doesn’t know that. But he’ll come quickly once his work is done. Let’s have breakfast.”

“I’m hungry.”

“What should we make?”

“French toast. With milk.”

“Okay.”

As she left the room with her son, Jeongeun, who had been watching TV, turned to look at her daughter.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. What are you watching?”

The TV was showing what appeared to be an accident scene.

“A landslide washed away a road. Oh my. There were cars passing by too, it seems.”

“Really? That’s terrible.”

As she headed toward the kitchen, a reporter’s voice reached her ears.

[I’m currently at a road in Hapcheon, Gyeongsangnam-do. As you can see behind me, the road is completely blocked due to a landslide. Vehicles that were passing through are currently buried under the mud. We can’t even determine how many cars are buried at this point.]

Soyu whipped her head around. Her eyes grew large and unsteady as she watched the TV. She rushed to the living room and stood in front of the TV, turning up the volume.

‘Hapcheon. I should leave home around six.’

The screen continued to show the road covered by the mudslide.

[It appears the cause was ground weakening due to record-breaking heavy rain. Landslides continue to occur, preventing rescue teams from approaching the accident site. While it’s impossible to determine how many vehicles are inside, authorities are searching for dashcam footage from cars that passed through the area.]

She froze. With trembling hands driven by an ominous thought piercing her mind, she took out her phone and called Jinwook. But the dial tone continued, and eventually, she only heard the voicemail message saying he couldn’t answer. She screamed.

“Aaagh!”

Startled, Jeongeun looked at her daughter and asked, 

“What’s wrong!”

Soyu stared at the screen in dismay. No way…. It couldn’t be….

“Soyu!”

As her daughter began crying, Jeongeun seemed to sense something was wrong and asked urgently, 

“J-Jinwook! Where did he go? Hm?”

Crying, Soyu picked up her phone to find Taeseop’s number. Her hands shook so badly that she dropped the phone, but she picked it up again, found the number, and barely managed to make the call. After the dial tone ended, Taeseop’s casual voice came through.

[Yes, Soyu.]

“T-Taeseop. J-Jinwook!”

[What? What about Jinwook?]

Soyu cried out, 

“Please try contacting Jinwook. There’s been an accident in Hapcheon…. What do I do…. What do I do….”

She collapsed to the floor and began sobbing.

Taeseop, who had stopped his bicycle to answer the phone, paled.

“Soyu. I’ll check it out. Calm down. Okay? Don’t cry.”

After hanging up, Hyunwook asked, 

“Soyu’s crying? Why? And what about Jinwook?”

“Wook, turn on your phone. There’s been an accident in Hapcheon.”

Hyunwook’s face also paled. He quickly took out his phone to check the news and staggered.

“A road was washed away by a landslide. Call Jinwook.”

Taeseop, who was calling Jinwook, shook his head.

“He’s not answering.”

Taeseop searched for a number and called Team Leader An.

[Hello?]

“Team Leader Ahn Hyunwoo. This is Song Taeseop, Jinwook’s friend. Are you with Jinwook by any chance?”

[What? No. The director was supposed to come separately, but he hasn’t arrived yet. Why do you ask?]

“There’s been a landslide in Hapcheon that washed away a road. I can’t reach him.”

[What? W-what are you saying? Are you saying the director might have been in the accident?]

“That hasn’t been confirmed yet. Is there any way to find out?”

[We’re closer, so we’ll go check right now.]

Team Leader An’s voice was trembling too. After hanging up, Taeseop said with a grim face, 

“Let’s go down there.”

“Wait a moment.”

Hyunwook made a call to someone.

“Hello. This is Attorney Do Hyunwook from Do Law Firm. Yes, hello. You know about the landslide in Hapcheon, right? Yes. I heard there are vehicles buried there, and I was wondering if you might know who they are? Ah, I see…. A friend of mine was heading there this morning, but I can’t reach him. I understand. Thank you.”

After hanging up, Taeseop asked, 

“Who was that?”

“The police. They don’t know either. It seems they can’t confirm anything yet.”

Taeseop said with a grim face, 

“Let’s go.”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

The two men pedaled their bicycles with all their might.

After finishing her call with Taeseop, Soyu was on the verge of fainting. She kept calling Jinwook, but when he didn’t answer, she collapsed.

“Hey!”

Jeongeun supported her daughter and said to Yeoul, 

“Yeoul, could you bring a glass of water?”

Yeoul whimpered, 

“Why is Mom crying? Is she hurt?”

“No. She’s just shocked. Hurry and bring some water.”

Crying, Yeoul brought the water and sat next to his mother, sobbing.

“Mom…. Don’t be sick…. Waah…. I’m scared….”

Seeing her son, Soyu forced a smile.

“I’m sorry. Mom was just a bit shocked. Mom’s okay.”

Just then, Taeseop called. Soyu quickly pressed the answer button and asked urgently, “Any news?”

[There’s someone called Team Leader An at the production company, and he said he’ll go to the scene first. We can’t find out anything from here. We’re about to leave now.]

Soyu jumped up and said, “I’m coming with you.”

[All the way there? Soyu. We’ll go first and check it out. You stay home.]

“No. I’ll go by myself if I have to. I can’t just wait at home like this.”

With a sigh, Taeseop’s voice came through.

[Come out in five minutes. We’re leaving home now.]

As Soyu was heading to the bedroom, she stopped in her tracks at the sound coming from the TV.

[Breaking news just in. Dashcam footage from a vehicle following behind has emerged. Oh no, what should we do? It appears that the car of Director Kim Jinwook, who recently won the Grand Prize in the short film category at the Cannes Film Festival, was buried under the mud. The footage is now available, and as you can see, mud and rocks are pouring down on the car ahead. Vehicle registration checks confirm that the car belongs to film director Kim Jinwook.]

Soyu crumpled to the floor. Her widened eyes saw Jinwook’s car being buried under the mudslide. She couldn’t hear Jeongeun’s scream or Yeoul’s crying. Her gaze was fixed on Jinwook’s car playing on the screen.

Hyunwook, who had been waiting in front of Soyu’s house, got out of the car and rang the doorbell when she didn’t come out. When there was no response from inside, Hyunwook knocked on the gate.

“Soyu! Jang Soyu!”

Taeseop also got out of the driver’s seat. The faces of the two men, who had seen the news in the car, were rigid. Hyunwook said, 

“She must have seen it.”

“Yes.”

“Should we still take her?”

“We have to. It’s Soyu, after all.”

Just then, the gate opened, and Soyu appeared with no color in her face. She came out in the clothes she had been wearing, holding only her phone.

“Let’s go.”

Taeseop asked with a worried face, 

“Can you handle it?”

“I have to go. Let’s go. There’s no time.”

After Soyu got into the back seat, Taeseop and Hyunwook quickly got into the car. As the car pulled out onto the road, Soyu leaned her head back in the rear seat, and Taeseop turned off the radio.

“Just leave it on.”

Taeseop silently turned the radio back on. The radio news was also continuously reporting breaking news about the Hapcheon road collapse. Hyunwook looked back. Even with her eyes closed, Soyu looked far from normal, her face deathly pale.

“Soyu. Steel yourself. Jinwook will be fine.”

Taeseop added, 

“You know what kind of guy Jinwook is. He’ll appear perfectly fine in front of us, so let’s trust him.”

Soyu turned her head. Tears streamed down the corners of her closed eyes. She thought she should have kept him longer. Should have sent him home earlier. Should not have been so harsh with him. All sorts of thoughts came to mind. She could vividly recall Jinwook’s smiling face and his hearty laughter with his hands on his waist. She remembered him carrying their child on his shoulders, bouncing along. Soyu’s shoulders shook as she covered her face with both hands.

“Hic…. Hic….”

As she cried, both Taeseop and Hyunwook kept their mouths tightly shut. They wanted to comfort her, but words wouldn’t come easily. Their hearts were also burning black with worry. The news about their brother, whom they had been closer to than their parents for thirty years, was unbelievable but real. Their eyes were bloodshot too.

Taeseop’s car entered the highway and tried to speed up, but unfortunately, it was Saturday. Stuck among cars repeatedly stopping and going, their hearts burned even darker.