Sunggyu was dead tired when he arrived back at the dorm with Myungsoo. The duo received a warm and teary welcome from Dongwoo and Hoya who wanted to reprimand the leader for excluding them in the mission but refrained from doing so after Sunggyu pouted tiredly at them. The foursome hugged together merrily.

“Three more to go… I can’t collapse now…” Sunggyu mentally encouraged himself.

“Hyung…” The dino-looking guy hugged Sunggyu, breaking the leader from his thoughts and whined like a little kid. “For the next mission, we want to be included…! We want to assist you in rescuing our beloved members too…! Don’t leave us behind to worry for you, Gyu Gee Gee… sobs sobs…”

Hoya and Myungsoo nodded their heads in agreement. Sunggyu sighed and shook his head. He was about to surrender to the puppies’ look of s when streaks of red paints flowed down the white wall of the living room. The nauseous stench of blood filled the living room. The quartet was shocked to see words appearing on the blood-stained wall.

Trying to recruit helpers…?
Then say ‘goodbye’ to your friends…

Sunggyu arched his eyebrows at the trio as if he had already expected to get such response. He was getting immune to the creepiness of the mastermind. However, Dongwoo, Hoya and Myungsoo widened their eyes at the horrifying scene. It was their first time getting in touch with the supernatural.

Sighing disappointedly, the trio slumped their shoulders in defeat. The Infinite leader smiled in assurance at his fellow band mates and patted their arms appreciatively for their support before voicing out daringly.

“Alright…! To shorten the wait, just give me my next task…!” Sunggyu challenged in a loud voice. They did not have to wait long before the mysterious black note glided down graciously from the bloodied wall. Sunggyu picked it up confidently and read the note with the other three members.

We love your boldness, Kim Sunggyu…!
Alright, let’s get the game started…!
Your next mission is to rescue Sungjong…
Oops…! The beloved maknae of your group, isn’t it…?
We know that this little kid loves teddy bears…
And we’re kind enough to transform him into his favourite soft toy…
Now, try searching for Sungjongie teddy bear in the toy store near your dorm…
You are again given fifty minutes…
Should you fail, Sungjongie shall remain as a teddy bear for the rest of his life…
It’s a great idea, isn’t it…?
I bet Myungsoo, his boyfriend will be delighted to hug him to sleep every night…
Time will start once you leave the dorm…
As usual, we wish you the best of luck…

Myungsoo was stunned. He wanted to cry for his beloved boyfriend had been transformed into a teddy bear. Nonetheless, he held himself together and patted Sunggyu on his shoulder.

“I trust you, hyung, in bringing Jongie back safely… I shall wait here for your good news…” Myungsoo’s teary eyes held his intense gaze as he stared confidently at his amazing leader. Sunggyu nodded understandingly and left the dorm, running at his top speed for the fourth time that day.

Thank goodness, the toy store was just across their dorm. Hence, the travelling time was greatly shortened. Sunggyu was left with forty-seven minutes, ample time to locate the maknae.

However, his happiness was short-lived as he realised that the large store was full of teddy bears. “Gosh…! There’re so many teddy bears here…! No wonder Sungjong used to come here all the time… But… Now… How am I going to locate him…?”

To his dismay, calling out to Sungjong received no response. “Pftt… Great… The mastermind had changed Sungjong into a teddy bear… Perhaps he is not allowed to speak… Argh….! I’ll just have to search one by one…”

Twenty minutes had passed and Sunggyu had yet to comb through half of the store. The Infinite leader was getting panicky. Droplets of sweat dripped onto his already drenched shirt. Sunggyu began praying; hoping that the angels up there would sympathize with him and lent a little help.

Sunggyu was about to scream in frustration and anxiety when he spotted a row of giant-sized teddy bears at the back of the store. They were approximately the size of an average adult. Delighted, Sunggyu sprinted towards them, positive that Sungjong was among the bears.

There were only ten such teddy bears, however, all of them looked the same. There was simply no way to differentiate and identify Sungjong out from them.

“Sungjongie… Where are you…? Which one is you…?” Sunggyu sobbed and kneeled on the floor. He was feeling despair. Time was running out and he had yet to seek out the maknae. He was only left with fifteen minutes.

Just then, Sunggyu spotted one of the teddy bears, number seventh from the left to be exact, it was crying. Streams of tears flow down the bear’s furry face. Thrilled with the discovery, Sunggyu hugged the bear.

Minutes passed and there was no reaction.

“What the …?” Sunggyu began cursing. He stood up angrily and pointed at nowhere. “I’ve found Sungjong…! Why hasn’t he turned back to human…?”

 He squatted down again as there was no response from the mastermind. Sunggyu began looking for clues on the teddy bear. There was a pocket at the teddy bear’s tummy and in it was another black note.

Congrats on finding the maknae…!
But do you have sufficient time…?
In order for Sungjong to transform back into human,
he has to be kissed by his boyfriend…
Yes, that’s right…
This happens in most of the fairy tales…
Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, The Frog Prince…
Yeah, we copied their idea… So…?
Time is running out, hurry…!
Kim Sunggyu, you’re only left with five minutes…
 

Sunggyu took a glance at his watch and it indeed reflected that he was left with five minutes. He tried hurriedly to grab the teddy bear but realised that it was as heavy as a grown man. There was no way that the physically drained leader was able to carry Sungjong teddy bear back to the dorm. And it was out of the question that Myungsoo was allowed to leave the dorm.

Quickly, Sunggyu racked his brain for ideas. He scanned around the store and was overjoyed to see a shopping cart. He carried the teddy bear and placed it gently in the shopping cart. The frantic leader began wheeling the trolley like a madman towards the exit.

By the time Sunggyu reached the store exit, he was only left with four minutes.

“Damn…!” The Infinite leader cursed again. It was close to 9am where people are getting to work. Peak hour, meaning the traffic was heavy and busy.

The anxious leader raised up his right hand while pushing the trolley, hoping that the vehicles would stop a while for him. The cars honked and stepped on the brake when Sunggyu dashed onto the road. Crossing the road in a zig-zag manner, it was a miracle that Sunggyu managed to arrive safely with Sungjong at the other side.

Three minutes left.

Guess the leader was out of luck for the day as both elevators broke down. Sunggyu had no choice but to carry the heavy teddy bear back to their dorm which was located at seventh.

Two minutes left.

Sunggyu was only at level three. The determined leader ignored the pain and exhaustion and continued to climb the stairs at a frantic pace.

Thirty seconds left.

Sunggyu had finally reached level seventh.

Twenty seconds left.

The duo arrived at their dorm door. Sunggyu began shouting for s to open the door.

Ten seconds left.

Sunggyu was inside with Sungjong teddy bear. He was about to call out to Myungsoo when he tripped. The teddy bear flew from his hands and landed on the Infinite’s visual.

Two seconds left.

Myungsoo lips meet the lips of Sungjong teddy bear.

Sunggyu emitted a sigh of relief at the blessed miracle when Sungjong began transforming back to a human.

Upon the change, Myungsoo and Sungjong sat up, hugged and kissed as they were merely a step away from life-and-death separation.

After the couple had calm down, Sungjong got up and ran towards Sunggyu. The maknae hugged the Infinite leader tightly. Tears of joy flowed down both their face. It was a heart-warming moment but Sunggyu just had to spoil it.

“Sungjong ah… Think you have to go a diet again… No more lemon sweets for you… Hyung nearly dies of exhaustion from carrying you up flights of stairs…”

The tense atmosphere dispersed immediately and the room erupted in laughter. Sungjong slapped playfully at Sunggyu who just grinned back. The lucky survivor leaned comfortably back into Myungsoo’s embrace while Hoya and Dongwoo cheered and jumped around the room.

But the harmony and peaceful moment was once again ruined by the appearance of the black note…

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finally I've managed to update another chappie today...
Hope the above chappie is not crap... >_<
As always, do let me know your thoughts... ^_^
Well, I won't be able to update for... I think... Around 1 week...
Apologise for the wait... Hope my sincere apologies will be accepted... ^_^