Joker

Big Bang was staring at the TV with their jaws hanging open. Both adrenaline and fear raced through their veins. The group couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Then the screen switched back to the pale blue eyes that made every man in the room shiver.

“As you can clearly see, Choi Seunghyun is not in the best shape at the moment,” said the low voice from the TV. “I don’t think that there’s much to say about the situation, because it’s very simple. If you want to have your member back, safe and sound, prepare one billion won.”

“One billion won?!” the members shouted in unison.

“How are we supposed to gather so much money?!” Youngbae asked and grabbed his head, panicking.

The stranger continued his speech, “The transaction will be done tomorrow at 4:30 AM on the rooftop of the YG Entertainment building. Moreover, the money should be packed in two suitcases. Don’t be late, unless you dare to risk Choi Seunghyun’s life.”

And that was it. The screen went black and left Big Bang speechless and flabbergasted. They stayed silent for a few seconds until Daesung started to shake Jiyong and shout:

“Hyung! TOP-hyung was abducted! How did it happen?!”

Other members walked around the room, trying to digest all the information. Some sat down and buried their faces in their hands, others just stood frozen, their eyes wide open.

“Calm down, everyone. We need to gather our strength and get TOP back unharmed, at least any further,” the leader said out loud, trying to get the grip on the frightened idols. He took Daesung into his arms in order to mollify the sobs of the younger man, “Bae-hyung, wasn’t TOP supposed to be escorted by his assistants?”

“That’s what the managers told me. Let me call the assistants, I have their numbers,” Youngbae, worried, replied frowning. He took out his phone in a flash and picked one of the noona’s phone number, “Hello, noona, I am Youngbae from Big Bang. I am sorry for calling you so late, but I have a quick question. Did you Choi Seunghyun today back to the dormitory?” Youngbae’s eyes widened as he looked at the members. That definitely wasn’t a good sign, “What?! Can you explain it more clearly, please? … What do you mean by “there was a new group of assistants today and they were in charge of taking TOP back”?! … All right, thank you, noona, and I am sorry for shouting… Ah, yes, everything is perfectly fine, TOP just… came back later than usual and got us worried, hahah… Anyway, again, thanks for the information! Good night.”

“I wasn’t informed of any new assistants,” Jiyong said, frowning, “There’s something off here…”

“I guess it has to be that new group that abducted him,” Seungri said in a weak voice. He was curled up on the sofa and had his face hidden behind his legs. His arms were locked tightly around him, as if he was afraid that once he releases the grip, he wouldn’t be able to hold himself up, “I don’t think that there is any other way to take him away like that. We’re nearly always surrounded by people we trust - such as our managers and noonas. Therefore, as I said, it has to be them…”

“Riri does actually have a point here,” Daesung nodded as he paced around the living room.

“The abduction process is not important right now. Let’s concentrate on how to gather one billion won,” Daesung ran his hand through his hair.

“I can pull all my savings out and that should cover a relatively big part, since I have saved a lot of money in the past few years,” Jiyon