~ G Dragon ~

 GDragon paces the alleyway between the Chinju precinct and the building next door, wracking his mind around his discovery. He impatiently walks back and forth against the cold, brick wall, waiting for his employer to answer the phone.

“Hello?” the low voice crackles over the line.
“YG? Sir?” GDragon stops his moving to focus on the voice.

The line is quiet for a moment besides the shallow breaths on the other end, “How many times have I told you not to address me?” the man asks, GDragon feeling the anger in his tone through the phone.

“I apologize,” GDragon hurries to state, trying to keep his own voice strong, “But I have some news that you may be interested in.”

“I’m listening.”

GDragon takes a breath, “I believe…I have found them, sir.”

The line is quiet again, but he can tell by the sound of movements on the other end that he has caught YG’s attention. “All of them?” he asks.

“Not quite, but most of them. They’re here, in the town of Chinju. Three of the four, I believe to be Yong JunHyung, Bang YongGuk, and Kim Hyuna.”

“All together?”

“Seems like it, sir.”

“And what about Lee JiEun?”

“Her whereabouts remain unknown, sir.”

The man sighs, “And…do they…know anything?”

“Not that I’m aware of. One of them considers himself a local here while the other two claim just to be passing through.”

“And you haven’t seen any signs of their symptoms?”

GDragon thinks back to the night in the bar, when he had exited to find the boy and the girl scolding their pet dog. “I’m still uncertain.”

Again, YG exhales into the receiver. “GDragon, this is too important of a matter to be based on assumptions…”

“Sir, they present similar characteristics and facial features of the photos, and some of the names match.”

“Some?”

“I haven’t been able to record all of their names, yet, sir.”

“GDragon, when you get some solid evidence on the matter…then you can call me and request the rest of your team, but until then…focus on getting the blood samples and records that you need! I need to be one hundred percent sure that these are the kids we’re looking for! I can’t risk any leaking of information to the public, do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” GDragon nods as his hands ball into fists at his side.

“And what about the cop that’s escorting you around? Is he of any use? Does he know their names? Can he get their records? Are you making sure he isn’t creating any assumptions of his own, like you?”

GDragon grinds his teeth, “The kid knows one of them. He’ll get me more information, I’m sure of it. I’ll find their records…and besides a few questions, he’s remained quiet about the whole situation.”

“You better hope that the kid keeps quiet, GDragon. If you let him catch on and find anything out about this…then I’ll have you as my next test subject!” YG yells into the phone, making GDragon pull it away from his ear for a moment.

“I understand, sir.”

“Good,” the man calms down, “You do your job right…and you’re reward will be bigger than you thought.”

GDragon smiles to himself, his fists loosening, “Sounds, good, sir. I’ll look forward to it.”

YG hangs up then, leaving GDragon in the alley, feeling even surer about his observations and less certain about how to obtain the information he needs. Trying to be nice and socialable…didn’t work out but may have actually caused the kids to feel suspicious about him. GDragon shouts to himself, banging his fist against the wall in frustration. It was time to crack down on the case, to get the information he needs, and to clean up any trails that he has left.

~ Jung DaeHyun ~

DaeHyun’s eyes widen as GDragon turns towards the street, slamming his fist against the precinct wall. DaeHyun is quick to turn and hide against the other side of the building, his breathing fast. GDragon had just phoned a call in to his supervisor, proving what DaeHyun had suspected to be true…that GDragon thinks that the kids at the bakery are the subjects he’s been looking for. And if that were true…than GDragon would be responsible for the kidnapping and death of local citizen Hyori as well. This was something that DaeHyun could not just let go of; this was the same thing that his own father had died trying to bring to the public eye.

DaeHyun knows now that he must intervene in the case and try to get the identification of the girl in the bakery, as well as JunHyung and the YongGuk guy. Then, perhaps DaeHyun could do some research of his own…without GDragon’s eyes on him. GDragon had mentioned the names “Yong JunHyung,” who has already been confirmed as a local of Chinju, “Bang YongGuk,” who might be the same Guk from the store, and “Kim Hyuna,” who would be the girl from the bakery. DaeHyun scribbles the names down on a piece of paper and looks at them.

Just then, GDragon turns the corner and DaeHyun stifles a gasp, pushing his back against the wall, shoving the paper in his pocket, and crossing his arms over his chest, as if he had been relaxing there the whole time.

“Officer DaeHyun,” GDragon stops to look at him.

“Oh, GDragon, sir!” DaeHyun exclaims, feigning shock, “I’ve been waiting for you,” he shoves off the wall and smiles, “Are you ready for patrol?”

GDragon blinks before answering, “Actually, I was thinking that I might do some patrolling of my own today,” he glances away and then back to DaeHyun, “My boss would like me to focus on some specific aspects to the case that I…just can’t share with others.” He slightly smiles.

DaeHyun closes his mouth, realizing that he had been gaping while GDragon spoke, and then nods. “Alright, that’s fine! I have some errands around town I need to run anyways.” He smiles.

GDragon smiles back and puts on his sunglasses as he walks past, “Thanks for understanding,” he says as he leaves.

“Sure,” DaeHyun says more to himself as GDragon disappears down the road.

DaeHyun sighs and then makes a run for his car, thinking that this is the opportunity of time that he needed in order to do some of his own investigating. Starting at the local files within the precinct, and then to the suspects themselves on the other side of Chinju.

~ Kim HyunA ~

BiRain had insisted on going out for dinner Saturday night in celebration of Chaelin’s return. After coercing the rest of the group into going, BiRain had left to get some work done beforehand, and JunHyung went with him to help. YongGuk stayed behind at the store, talking and helping Chaelin as Hyuna took a well-deserved break.

“Hyuna, can you take this bag of garbage out to the dumpster in the back?” CL asks, tying a white bag from under the counter and placing it on the other side. “YongGuk, could you help me rearrange some of the boxes in the supply closet? They’re too heavy for me to do alone.” She smiles.

“Sure,” YongGuk and Hyuna reply together.

Hyuna grabs the bag and walks out the front of the store, enjoying the warmth of the light autumn sun on her skin as she drags the bag around to the back of the store. She heaves the back into the dumpster at the back of the alley and walks back towards the main road, feeling the cool breeze move between the buildings. She smiles to herself, feeling to be in a state of bliss and contentment with the weather as she rounds the street towards the bakery.

She stops and stares ahead, all of her happiness suddenly feeling washed away like a wave sinking a sand castle back down into ground, as she looks at her own reflection in the dark sunglasses of GDragon.

His lips turn into a smile as looks down to her, his hands in his pockets. She blinks and then looks down, trying to walk past him, but he puts his hand up against the wall of the store cutting off her exit.

“Kim Hyuna,” he says, pulling her eyes wide open at the terrible sound of her own name coming out in GDragon’s smooth voice, “I was thinking that we could finish our discussion from earlier…for my records.”

“GDragon,” Hyuna fights to keep her voice calm as she looks up to him, “I don’t think there’s much more that I could add to your research.”

“Is that because you don’t want me to know…or because you can’t remember it…Miss Hyuna?”

Hyuna’s eyes open in panic as her pulse picks up pace. What does he know? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hyuna replies, again trying to get past him, but he cuts her off with one quick step in front of her.

“It is probable that you wouldn’t know, but that’s why I’m here. I can help you to remember, Hyuna. I can give you your life back.”

Hyuna stares at him, feeling apart of a dream. “What life? My life wasn’t taken from me.”

GDragon smirks, “But it was. And I’ve come to help you and your friends...Hyuna.”

“Stop saying that!” Hyuna squeezes her eyes shut as her hands form fists at her side. “You need to leave…”
GDragon grabs ahold of her shoulders, keeping her in place, “Saying what? Your name? You need to listen to me. You don’t belong here.”

“I do,” Hyuna’s voice croaks.

“No you don’t, you’re different and you know it. You give me what I’m looking for and I can get you out of here with your friends.”

“I don’t want to leave!” Hyuna cries, searching the street for help.

GDragon scoffs, “Why would you want to stay in a place like this?”

“I’m happy here! Leave me alone!”

“Give me three good reasons as to why this place is so much greater than what I can offer you, and maybe I will.”

Hyuna grinds her teeth and yanks free from GDragon’s grasp. She looks to his glasses, searching for his eyes behind the dark lens. She holds up a finger and says through her teeth, “I’ll give you five. Chaelin,” then another finger, “BiRain,” and another, “JunHyung,” a fourth, “YongGuk,” and a fifth, “DaeHyun.”

With all five fingers open in a palm, she brings her hand back and then forces it forward, slapping GDragon across his face and sending his glasses to the ground. She glares at his eyes, looking for shock or anger, but his mouth slides into a smile as he opens his eyes and shakes his head in laughter. He reaches down to get his glasses and Hyuna walks past him, hurrying for the door to the bakery.

“You should not have done that, Hyuna,” GDragon says over his shoulder as he cleans his glasses with his tie, “I will open your eyes eventually…whether you want them opened or not.”

Hyuna looks to him once more before quickly entering the shop, her heart thudding in her ears.

Hyuna shuts the door behind her, her eyes filling with tears as she tries to shut them and control her breathing.

“Hyuna!” CL breathes as she walks in, “What’s the matter?” her voice speaks with urgency as she rushes over to Hyuna.

Hyuna forces a smile between sobs and wipes at her eyes, glancing to YongGuk’s worried face. “Oh…it’s nothing…” she sniffs, “I’m just feeling emotional.” She looks outside, “It’s so nice out,” her voice cracks.

CL raises an eyebrow and then looks Hyuna up and down and nods. “Oh, I know that feeling, sweetheart!” she laughs, “It’s okay, love, your emotions will pass. I’ll get you some advil,” she turns and hurries back to the counter, making Hyuna laugh at her hidden assumptions.

Hyuna shakes her head, “No, no, I’m fine,”

“Are you?” YongGuk asks cautiously.

Hyuna nods, “Yes, sometimes the nice weather gets me sad,” she shrugs.

CL looks to her with a blank expression, “You are one strange girl…enjoying the rain more than the sunshine.”

Hyuna shrugs and YongGuk pats her back. It was true, though; Hyuna enjoyed the rain beating down more than the warmth of the sunrays. She always reasoned for this in saying that when the earth was dark and cold, it seemed to match how she felt on the inside…balancing out her world.

She looks to up to YongGuk and takes a deep breath, “I want to talk to JunHyung,” she whispers.

YongGuk purses his lips and glances up to CL. He sighs and then nods his head.

~ Yong JunHyung ~

JunHyung was working with BiRain in the sound room, setting up the recording stuff for MBLAQ’s new songs. He helps to prepare all of the equipment and prepare the sound systems as BiRain pulls out the papers and fires up the gear.

MBLAQ stands inside the sound booth, placing headphones on and preparing the mics as JunHyung hurries to turn on the necessary equipment.

“Alright,” BiRain speaks into the mic to the sound room, “We’ll give it a go in three…two…” he holds up one finger and then points at them as the music plays and they begin the opening to their song.

JunHyung leans over the table, nodding his head to the beat of the song as they start out. He writes on the papers on the table, paying close attention to their rhythm and beat.

Suddenly, the door to the room flies open and he and BiRain look up in astonishment as Hyuna and YongGuk stand in the doorway with open eyes and mouths.

“JunHyung,” Hyuna breathes, looking relieved but with puffy, red eyes.

JunHyung stands up straight, observing her behavior. Something’s wrong.

“Get them out of here!” BiRain hushes between his teeth, throwing his hands over his head in aggravation.

JunHyung nods and quickly turns, ushering YongGuk and Hyuna out into the hall and shutting the door behind him.

“What are you two doing?” he asks as he looks to them with wide eyes.

“We need to talk to you,” YongGuk says as he purses his lips and glances to Hyuna.

JunHyung looks to her to see that she’s struggling to speak, “I…I need to talk to you guys…”

JunHyung looks to the recording room and back, “Now?”

“Right now,” Hyuna nods and YongGuk shrugs, looking down to her in worry.

JunHyung sighs and nods, and then leads them back down the hall and down the stairs to the front street.

“Man, we busted through every room looking for you,” YongGuk says over his shoulder as he walks, “Took forever to find the building, too.”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly expecting you guys. If you would have called me first I could have given you directions,” JunHyung grabs Hyuna’s wrist once they walk onto the sidewalk, “What’s all of this about?”

Hyuna turns to them and sighs, looking away, as if fighting tears. JunHyung looks to YongGuk and he shrugs, stating that he doesn’t know anything either.

Hyuna exhales and then places her hands on her hips as she faces them, “GDragon found me.” Her voice struggles to speak.

“What?” JunHyung asks first, taking a step towards her.

“GDragon found me. He came up…and started talking to me about…stuff…using my full name.” she shakes her head, “I never told him my name…”

“When was this?” YongGuk asks in a huff.

“When I was taking out the trash! He just…cornered me and told me that he can give me my life back and that I can bring you guys with me. He said something about not remembering anything. He told me to take him up on his offer or…I don’t remember.”

JunHyung and YongGuk breathe quietly, staring down to her as she looks back and forth between them.

“What does this mean?” YongGuk finally asks, looking to JunHyung.

JunHyung exhales, “This means…it’s time to move on,” he says reluctantly, looking back to YongGuk.

YongGuk holds his gaze and then nods.

~ Jung DaeHyun ~

DaeHyun finds JunHyung walking down the street with the girl and boy from the bakery, headed towards the shop from the center of town. He takes a breath as he switches on his lights, earning their attention, and then pulls over to the curb as they stop to stare at him.

He takes his time in getting out of the cruiser, feeling nervous about how to address the situation. He walks slowly up to them, trying to smile.

“What’s the problem, officer?” YongGuk voices as he takes a step forward.

“Yeah, DaeHyun, what’s up with the lights?” JunHyung asks, pointing to his cop car.

DaeHyun sighs as he reaches them, looking at each in turn. “I need to ask you guys something...”

JunHyung looks from YongGuk to Hyuna and then nods. “We need to ask you something too.”

DaeHyun raises his eyebrows, “Oh? About what?”

“About that GDragon guy!” YongGuk scoffs, and DaeHyun looks to him in shock.

“What…what about him?”

“What is he here for?” JunHyung asks, folding his arms over his chest.

“I’m…not entirely sure. What have you guys heard?” DaeHyun looks to all of them again, reading their expressions. “What…what happened?”

JunHyung sighs and then proceeds in explaining what happened between Hyuna and GDragon, the details lacking. After they say everything, DaeHyun takes a couple deep breathes, trying to breathe.

“You guys…” he shakes his head, “We need to talk.”

The group walks into the alley for privacy and DaeHyun addresses them.

“I’ve been assigned to aid GDragon in his case work, but no one has really told me what it is that he’s doing. He claims to be observing the locals…researching. But the other day, when I looked into his brief case, I found information on an organization called NATAS, along with a list of deceased and missing people resulting from a chemical explosion in a branch up north. Among the list of names dead were GDragon’s father…and Hyori,” JunHyung’s eyes widen, and DaeHyun looks to him, “BiRain’s wife.” He shakesk his head, “I’ve never heard of NATAS before this…and I’m sure that Hyori wasn’t part of it. I don’t know why her name was on that list.” He looks up to them, “But there was also a list of four people thought to have been missing from that…and your names are on there.”

“What?” JunHyung exhales, narrowing his eyes, “My name?”

DaeHyun nods, “Along with photographs of each of you…looking outdated…but still very much like each of you.”

“They have our names?” YongGuk asks through his teeth.

DaeHyun breathes, “That depends…are you…Bang YongGuk?” his eyes widen, proving truth in DaeHyun’s question. He looks to the girl, “And are you…Kim Hyuna?”

Her eyes show her fright as she steps back and nods, “He knows,” she whispers.

DaeHyun nods, “Yes, GDragon knows your names. He thinks you are the missing people. Honestly…I think I need to take you guys in to him…”

“What?” YongGuk roars, pulling Hyuna back and stepping forward, “You cannot take us in to him!”

“DaeHyun,” JunHyung interrupts, stepping up, “There is something wrong with this guy! We’re…we’re not missing people! We didn’t do anything wrong!”

DaeHyun looks at them and nods, “I know, but…I should take you to him…but I can’t.” he shakes his head and sighs, “I don’t trust this GDragon any more than I trust any of you.”

“We’re telling the truth,” JunHyung says, “We have no idea what either of you are talking about!”

“JunHyung, there was a list of…symptoms about each of you. Something resulting from the chemicals you might have been exposed to at the blast. I…I can’t remember all of them but I think memory loss was one.”

Hyuna looks up to him then with wide eyes.

“Do you know something?” he asks her.

She blinks and glances to the boys, “I…In my dreams…I see fire and explosions.” She shrugs, “I always thought they were nightmares…but maybe they’re…memories.”

DaeHyun takes a breath as the boys look to her with worry.

“Me too,” YongGuk states, “But I see another person in my dreams as well. A girl. You said there were four missing right?” he looks to Hyuna and JunHyung, “This is only three. Who’s the fourth?”

“I was hoping you could tell me,” DaeHyun scoffs.

“In my dreams,” Hyuna continues, “There’s an older woman…in her thirties. She has long, light brown hair…and a kind smile. She’s…like us,” she says quietly as she looks to JunHyung and YongGuk.

“In mine,” YongGuk says, “I don’t see that woman…but I do see a young girl with really short red, brown hair. She looks a little younger than me,” he nods, “And she’s like us too.”

“Well,” JunHyung sighs, “In my dreams I see a man…not a girl and not a woman. He’s a big guy with short black hair,” he looks to DaeHyun and shrugs, “And he’s like us too.”

DaeHyun looks to them all, “What do you mean, he’s like you?”

They exchange glances between each other.

“What…what exactly were those symptoms from the sheet in GDragon’s file?” Hyuna asks.

DaeHyun shakes his head, “I can’t remember. I wrote it down at the office in my own file. Something about fatigue, heart and breathing rate, and physical appearance.” He shrugs.

JunHyung nods, “We need that sheet, DaeHyun. And we can tell you about us…but no one else. Not BiRain, not Chaelin, and definitely not GDragon.”

DaeHyun nods, “Okay,” he exhales, feeling guilty in keeping his discoveries secret.

JunHyung grabs his arm, “I’m serious, DaeHyun. We trust you on this when we can trust no one else. We promise you that we don’t know everything, and we’re not sure what’s going on or what GDragon wants…but if Hyori is on that list and she’s ended up dead…we need your protection.”

DaeHyun looks to him with strong eyes and nods again. “I’ll go get that paper. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

He watches them as he backs away to his cruiser, his heart racing…but his mind racing faster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~LC~

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