“So, you’re over a month into your investigation. Who are the suspects?” Captain Ahn asked. He leaned back comfortably in his recliner chair in the office of their fake music company. Minjoo sat across his desk, while Seoyoon stood next to a whiteboard.

“I’ve been watching all of the idols, their managers, and stylists very closely and I think I have them all profiled. I casually asked at least one idol from each group—”

“More like interrogated,” Minjoo mumbled. Seoyoon shot her partner a death glare before returning to her prepared speech.

“I asked them about the crime going on, and while most of them admitted they were spooked by it, some laughed it off and others even avoided the question completely! That’s suspicious behavior, if you ask me.”

“Or maybe you just think everyone’s a suspect,” Minjoo said, rolling her eyes.

“That’s because everyone is a possible suspect,” Seoyoon shot back. “But I have more: There was one group in particular whose members and managers turned cold at the mention of the crimes. And that’s why we have six suspects for you today.” Seoyoon taped six profile pictures onto the whiteboard in a line.

“I barely see anything suspicious about them,” Minjoo said, distancing herself from the whiteboard.

Seoyoon completely ignored her partner’s commentary and introduced the suspects to the captain. “Son Dongwoon, Lee Kikwang, Yang Yoseob, Yong Junhyung, Jang Hyunseung, and Yoon Doojoon.”

ONE WEEK AGO

Six teams of three lined up in front of the cameras, all wearing running shoes and color-coordinated team track suits. It was a sunny Monday morning—perfect for filming a Running Man special with the best of the best (of those that could make it) idols. There was Sistar, Infinite, 4Minute, Shinee, MBLAQ, and Beast. They spoke amongst themselves until the final team entered.

“Here he comes—Kang Gary and his mystery team!” Yoo Jaesuk announced in his best MC voice.

“Gary always gets really good teammates,” Haha complained. “It’s not fair!”

“Hyung, you said we were the best teammates you could ask for,” Hoya said, with Sunggyu nodding alongside him. Haha looked to his idol team and laughed it off. But then, when Gary and the two women by his side began their group dance, all of the Running Man cast and the idol guests cheered. “Honeymoon!”

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

“These two are the youngest guests to have appeared on Running Man,” Gary said, pointing to Seoyoon and Minjoo.

“That’s right—they only debuted a few weeks ago!” Kwangsoo said. “But everyone knows your song!”

“Do you know the dance, too?” Sukjin asked. Without missing a beat, Kwangsoo began shaking his hips and humming along to the chorus. Jongkook stepped in to stop him.

“I think these boys are big fans, too,” Jihyo said, pointing to Doojoon and Yoseob behind her. “When the dance started, they were yelling, ‘ Yoseob slapped Doojoon’s arm as they both hid in embarrassment.

“Yah, you’re never this nice on broadcasts to 4minute,” Gayoon complained. Sohyun nodded. “Who’s paying you?”

“Or who’s dating you?” Mir asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Lee Joon quickly covered Mir’s mouth afterwards.

“So apparently, you two are quite the popular rookies,” Hyosung said.

“We’re just lucky,” Seoyoon replied, stepping in front of Minjoo. The Running Man cast then moved the topic along to the missions for that day, but Seoyoon kept a stoic expression. When she looked at Yoseob, she saw him smirk and mumble:

“Enjoy it while it lasts.”

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Seoyoon, Minjoo, and Gary put their heads together for a group huddle. After an entire day of piggy-back rides, relays, and water punishments, Gary and Honeymoon were in the lead—not like it mattered now that they were in the final mission: hide and seek.

“We just need to keep up the pace, and then we’ll get first place!” Gary said.

“Who should we look out for?” Seoyoon asked as she stretched out her shoulders.

“The ace, Jihyo, and Beast,” he replied.

“But they were last place earlier,” Minjoo said. “They beat all the other teams in the tournament?”

“They’re definitely the soccer-dols,” Gary said. As if they overheard Gary, Doojoon and Yoseob suddenly yelled and high-fived each other in the other corner of the room. “Don’t let their charms fool you.”

“You’re right… they look like they’re up to something,” Seoyoon said. Gary gave Seoyoon a look and Minjoo laughed loudly to cover up for her suspicious partner.

“As expected, you’re our team’s ace,” Gary suddenly said, putting a shoulder around Seoyoon. She laughed and winked at the camera. “Everyone, please watch out for team Honeymoon,” Gary said.

“We’re coming after you!” Seoyoon pointed into the camera with her index finger to end the shot.

“What natural talent!” the VJ said, putting down her camera.

“You really should come out next time, as a regular guest,” Gary said. Seoyoon shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m just having fun,” she replied. “And I guess eight years of taekwondo helps.” Minjoo began talking about the ballet classes she took as a child while Seoyoon continued to stretch. Her eyes glazed around the room, sizing up her competition—and suspects. Most of the idols interacted with each other: Sunggyu flirted with Bora, Taemin taught Hoya and Mir some dances, Gayoon and Hyorin whispered the latest gossip to each other. They all looked relaxed except for one group: Beast. Seoyoon watched Doojoon and Yoseob, even as they began filming again.

“Any final words?” Yoo Jaesuk asked all the teams.

Doojoon quickly turned towards Seoyoon, making her flustered. “Since Honeymoon is our favorite rookie group, oppas will go easy on you,” Doojoon said with his best cheesy grin.

“Don’t make excuses just because you’re tired, oppa,” Seoyoon snapped back. Doojoon stepped back and turned red, accepting her diss. And with that, the hide and seek race began.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

“Jonghyun, out! Shinee, out!” The announcement rang through the building’s PA system after Bora pulled off Jonghyun’s nametag.

“That just leaves…” Bora stood still and counted the teams off on her fingers when Hoya dashed towards her from behind and ripped off her nametag. “Aish!”

“Sorry!” Hoya yelled back as he continued sprinting down the hallway. As soon as he was out of sight, Lee Joon appeared and asked which direction Hoya went. Bora bitterly refused to help any other team, but Jonghyun pointed in the right direction. Not a minute later was there an announcement of Infinite’s elimination. 40 minutes into the race, and the only teams left were MBLAQ, Beast, and Honeymoon.

Yoseob and Lee Joon walked into an open lounge from opposite ends at the same time. They circled each other in silence for the first minute, before Lee Joon spoke up:

“Hey, there are three teams left. Why don’t we team up for now, for old time’s sake?”

“Weren’t you teamed up with Kwangsoo? He got eliminated already,” Yoseob said. “Your team’s already at a disadvantage.”

“Oh… I guess you caught me,” Lee Joon said. He made a sudden break for the door, but Yoseob was just a step behind him.

“Gary, out!”

“Gary oppa was on the rooftop!” Minjoo told Seoyoon. They were walking down the stairwell together, on the ninth floor.

“Wait for me here! I’ll check to see if whoever got him out is still up there,” Seoyoon ordered. When she reached the door to the outside, she put her ear against the door to listen for a sound, and when she didn’t hear any, she silently slipped out. Gary was on the far edge of the rooftop, and standing next to him was his ouster. The area was dimly lit by the rooftop garden’s lampposts, so Seoyoon had to appear directly in front of the other guest.

“Yah, is that Honeymoon?” a familiar voice asked. He jogged towards Seoyoon and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Beast’s Yoon Doojoon,” Seoyoon replied. They stood in front of each other at a distance, but Doojoon stuck out his hand.

“Be a little more comfortable around me. You can call me sunbaenim, or maybe even—”

“Oppa!” Minjoo screamed as Yoseob and Lee Joon came tumbling through the ninth floor stairwell.

“Did you call me oppa?” Lee Joon became distracted for a second, as he smiled at Minjoo. In that second, Yoseob pinned his friend down and tore his nametag.

“Lee Joon, ou—”

The announcement was cut short, and so were the lights. It was a sudden blackout. The building was immediately met with an explosion of panicked screams, walkie-talkie yells, and accidental scuttles. Lee Joon stood up on his feet before Yoseob regained his own, effectively knocking Yoseob into the wall next to Minjoo. Minjoo screamed and lost her footing, and began to fall down the flight of stairs—but not before Yoseob reached for Minjoo’s hand, and fell with her. They landed on the bottom of the steps, with Minjoo on top of Yoseob, holding him tightly.

“Are you okay?” Yoseob asked, without hiding his pain and discomfort.

“I’m—I’m…” Minjoo realized how close she was to Yoseob, and quickly backed away. That, however, only caused her to hit her head against the wall.

“I guess you’re okay,” Yoseob sighed. He stood back onto his feet and rubbed Minjoo’s head.

The blackout paused filming, as the staff tried to solve the problem. The blackout was just in the SBS building, and stretched from the bottom floors to the rooftop, which was now pitch black. It was a cloudy night, with no moon and no stars. Before the rooftop lights went out, Doojoon and Seoyoon were in the middle of a standoff at the edge of the roof. But after, they could barely see their own hand in front of them.

“What happened?” Doojoon asked. “This can’t be happening now!” Seoyoon tried to walk towards the staff, but tripped on a pipe and fell backwards. “Seohwa!” Doojoon instinctively leapt forward to catch Seoyoon. He pulled her into his arms before they crashed into the roof’s railing.

Seoyoon could feel his breath, his heartbeat, his voice’s echo as he spoke gently into her ear.

“Don’t look down. Just look at oppa.”

Seoyoon of course looked down and saw the busy street fifteen floors below, and suddenly her body tensed up.

“I told you not to look,” Doojoon laughed, hugging Seoyoon a little tighter. And though there was barely any light, Seoyoon could see Doojoon’s bright, promising smile. “Oppa will protect you.”

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

The forty-some Running Man staff and guests filled up a local restaurant after filming ended, near 3 a.m. The blackout lasted only a few minutes, but delayed filming enough to interrupt the flow of the episode.

“I guess I can’t be too unhappy about it,” Jihyo joked. When the lights turned back on, Yoseob and Doojoon ousted Minjoo and Seoyoon, and Jihyo cornered both Gary and Seungho, making Beast’s team victorious.

“It was rigged,” Lee Joon whined.

“You planned it, didn’t you?” Sohyun poked Yoseob’s face with the back of her chopstick, but he swatted her away.

“Are Running Man filmings always this hectic?” Minjoo asked. No one seemed to hear her question except for a staff member sitting across from her.

“Oh, it’s always crazy, with staff members and guests and their managers going in and out, in buildings and in Seoul,” he replied. “But blackouts are very rare. It reminds me of the recent blackout at KBS and MBC—”

“Someone’s targeting our entertainment industry!” a buzzed writer blurted out, standing up from the table. She caught everyone’s attention, as she continued to blab on about her conspiracy theories, which no one could understand through her slurred words.

“I think she said something about tvN,” Hoya said.

“So the stuff about the blackouts, the food poisoning—they’re all true? Do you think someone’s behind it?” Seoyoon asked.

“Definitely. There’s one bitter company out there sabotaging the rest of us,” Jonghyun said.

“I think it’s just a group of people—one of those anti clubs,” Sohyun said.

“But anti who? Anti every single entertainer out there?” Seungho asked.

“I think it’s just one person, and at the end, they’re going to make a really big statement. They’re probably really crazy, so it’ll be something like ‘ban television’ or ‘stop the internet’,” Bora said.

“These theories are crazy. It’s obviously just coincidences, and we’re scaring ourselves,” Sunggyu said.

“Ha. Try saying that after you’ve been there when it’s happened,” Gayoon said. “Since we’re promoting right now, we’ve been in all three blackouts, the graffiti on our company’s office building, and even what the broadcast people looked like after the last food poisoning. In fact, wasn’t another Beast member there?”

Doojoon jolted at his name but quickly snapped back into conversation. “Yeah, Kikwang got hit pretty bad.” He then picked up his glass of beer and began gulping it down. The table’s conversation then drifted onto Korean dramas and which co-star was dating who.

“Cube was one of the vandalized office buildings?” Seoyoon asked Doojoon. He nodded. “And Kikwang got food poisoning?” He nodded again. Seoyoon took a sip of water to sober up more before continuing, “It’s like the bad stuff is following you guys.”

Doojoon finished his beer and nervously laughed. “Something… something like that.”

“It’s exactly like that,” Yoseob quietly said, whispering from across the table. “Whoever is doing this is targeting us.”

“You don’t know that,” Doojoon responded.

“We’re the victims—”

“Can I see you for a second?” Doojoon stood up from his seat and headed to the bathroom, and Yoseob followed. When they returned, they completely swept the conversation under the rug, leaving Seoyoon to wonder what they were hiding.