{TWENTY- FOUR}

Month 04 Day 14

Minjae cautiously took a step back everytime the kidnapper neared her. She clutched her phone tightly in her trembling hands. She was certain there was no chance for her to call anybody, and she had gotten herself in deep trouble. She cursed herself for overreacting to every single action the kidnapper did towards her brother. Bascially, she was an idiot for her brother.

The kidnapper had a smug smile plastered on his face, Minjae could predict what sort of devilish acts he would threaten to do to them. She felt her back suddenly press against the fence seperating the factory and the vast grass fields which could serve as a perfect place to hide. It signalled a dead end, and the other damned thing was that her legs were frozen in place.

These legs will be the death of me. She inwardly cursed to herself as the kidnapper was inching nearer towards her slowly, he looked like he was enjoying it, to her disgust.

"S-Stay away you ert!" Minjae reached for a pile of boxes and began to throw them at the kidnapper, causing him to yell before falling on the floor. Only then could her legs start to run over to her brother, who widened his eyes when he saw her.

"Noona, what the hell are you doing here?! Don't you know how much danger you're putting yourself in?" Minjoon chided her as if he was the older sibling. 

It took awhile for her to respond, because she was too occupied with trying to find a way to untie the rope around Minjoon. She tried her best, giving her full concentration, but it seemed her hands were shaking as she did it. It ticked her off, not to mention how the knot had also been tied in such a complicated manner. When the hell did knots become so hard to untie? She was trying to save her brother, not solve a freaking knot puzzle!

"Speak for yourself, you idiot!" She didn't hesitate to smack the boy across his head, earning a yelp from him, "You should've paid more attention to who and what was around you! Look kind of situation we've landed in now!"

"But he-- Oh crap, he's coming..." Minjoon turned his attention to the ropes which were ten percent from unravelling around him, "Hurry up, hurry up!"

"I'm freaking trying!" Minjae half whispered furiously, she was almost there, but her hands stopped when a tall shadow overcast the two siblings. The both of them were greeted by the kidnapper in front of them.

"Look what we have here, another lucky catch," He bent down in front of Minjae before shockingly gripping her chin to get a better look at her. She felt disgusted, she had the urge to break his arm right at that moment, but she decided against it. The man had a knife, so it was better not to mess with him.

"Get. Your. Hands. Off. Me." She warned, glaring daggers through the man who gave an annoying burst of sinister laughter. The type where those villains in movies would laugh, it sounded like a cackle.

Minjae wished she could call for help, but this place was fairly secluded, there was no way the residents would be able to hear here. That was the purpose of the kidnapper leading them here, anyway. She should've called the police, they could've served as backup, but it was all too late now, and the late idea was added to her regret bucket. She had no clue if Baekhyun had gotten her text message, because he was the only person she could contact. Heck, she didn't even know if he often checked his phone.

"Shut your trap and sit that pampered of yours on the ground, would you?" He stood up and kicked Minjae to the ground, since she was kneeling with one knee on the ground.

"That is no way to treat my sister!" Minjoon growled, but there was a hint of fear in his eyes when the kidnapper revealed a sharp knife from his pocket. 

"Talk to each other, scream, or try to escape, and this will be the fate your necks are going to face," He smirked, his finger tracing against the knife's sharp edge.

Minjae and Minjoon kept silent as they watched the kidnapper murmur incoherent speeches to himself. It was a great oppurtuity to continue from where she'd left off on untying Minjoon's ropes. She expertly untied the last of them, keeping a close eye on the kidnapper if he were to ever turn his back.

"Minjoon, run now," Minjae whispered to her brother, who was in utter disbelief. He looked as if he was going to suddenly going to burst and start asking questions on why she wasn't following him.

Minjoon fervently shook his head before he whispered in protest, "Noona, are you in your right mind now? I can't leave without you, what's going to happen to you if I escape? If you think I'm the type of brother who leaves his sister behind, then you're absolutely wrong, I just can't! Imagine what he'll do to you if I'm gone."

However, she wasn't going to have any of it. Her priority right now was to put herself after family, so she wanted Minjoon to escape safely while she dealed with  the possibly threatening criminal. 

"Idiot," She frowned, "You know if he sees you escape he'll catch you first since you're the heir of dad's company. Hopefully, I'll be able to hold him back from chasing you while you call for help. Sounds like a plan, doesn't it?"

"And risk being stabbed?" Minjoon sighed exasperatedly, "He has a goddamn knife, and things get serious, you can die!"

"Minjoon." Minjae placed her hands firmly on her brother's shoulders and whispered, "Trust me. I'm your big sister, and I promise, I'll handle things over here. I'll buy some time, so you go call the police so we can catch this guy, alright?"

Although he was almost on the verge of tears because of he fact he had to leave his sister in danger, he nodded, "I'll find some help really quickly noona, so hang on until then, alright?" And with that, he stood up and sprinted out of the building faster than lightning. 

"Hey, where do you think you're going?!" 

Before the kidnapper could run after Minjoon, Minjae slammed his back with a long wooden plank she'd found lying on the ground. It slightly shattered, but it was still usable for a few more hits and as a weapon, although a fairly weak-looking one. Thank god the man had forgotten all about tying her.

She stood glued to her spot, waiting for the kidnapper's reaction. He simply turned his back, a threatening smile etched on his lips,"Oh, so you like to play rough eh?"

Minjae gulped. She really wished Kyungsoo would appear right now.

"Kyungsoo, even the country's police force hasn't set foot here, what makes you think the kidnapper would pick a place like this? You think a sinister looking criminal would set foot in a residence filled with the elderly?" Baekhyun complained as the gang walked a steep uphill.

After what Baekhyun had told them about Minjoon and Minjae going missing, they gathered the whole gang to search for them. They were now somewhere on the outskirts of Seoul, with refreshing countryside scenery. It even had the silent atmosphere, full of peace,  perfect for retired couples to settle in.

Perfect for criminals to carry out their diabolical plans.

"Stop complaning already, you wuss," Sehun shook his head in disappointment at Baekhyun, "In case you haven't known, places like these are perfect for kidnappings. They're quiet, they're filled with a majority of oblivious old people with hearing problems, so even if you screamed like those in horror movies, no one could hear you. They'd dismiss it as a wild animal's mating call or something."

"What kind of terrifying murderous scream sounds like a mating call for animals?" Luhan questioned, but decided he didn't need an explanation when Sehun glared at him.

"Oh, come on Luhan, there could be a possibility," Minseok added while the others continued to bicker, specifically Byun Baekhyun and Luhan.

On the other hand, there was Kyungsoo who was more alert than a guard dog, scanning every nook and cranny he saw, hoping it would lead to a secret passage where he could find Minjae sitting there, unharmed while he beat the living daylights out of the kidnapper.

Go Minjae, where are you? I'm in a freaking mess because of you, so just give me a clue or a sign on where you are! Please...

"There's no way they could be here," Baekhyun concluded, "If they were, then I could hear Minjae or Minjoon's cries for help by now..."

"HYUNGS!"

"That sounds exactly like him..." Chanyeol pointed out, but Baekhyun brushed it off, "Nah, it's probably just a random neighbourhood kid chasing after his friends."

"CHANYEOL HYUNG, SEHUN HYUNG! HELP!"

"Oh hey, look," Baekhyun laughed amusedly, "It looks lik