“Where’s Jaehwan?” N asked. He handed his shoes to the clerk behind the oak wood desk and received size 10 bowling shoes in return.

“I don’t know,” Hongbin replied, “Maybe he just decided to go on that date with Taekwoon instead.”

“I get weird vibes from that Taekwoon kid,” N admitted.

 “Why do you always refer to him as a kid?”  Hongbin laughed, “You guys are the same age!”

N shook his head, “That’s not the point.”

 “What’s taking you guys so long?” Hyuk asked as he approached the two men. “Ravi and I already set up the scoreboard.” He then looked pass them in search for something. “Where’s Ken?”

“He ditched us,” Hongbin said.

“Well I guess I’ll go tell Ravi to remove his name from the board.” Hyuk replied, “You two hurry up.”  He then returned back to the bowling lane where Wonshik sat.

“Hey,” N called, “Didn’t you say Ken ditched us to go out with that Taekwoon kid?”

 “Yep,” Hongbin nodded.

“Then why is he here?” N pointed in the direction of the entrance. Hongbin turned around and to his surprise Taekwoon was there awkwardly looking around. He turned back to N and shrugged.

“I’m going over there,” N said. “You finish putting on your shoes and go join Hyuk and Wonshik.”

N walked over to Taekwoon. Taekwoon had his hands in his pockets as he paced back and forth. N stood in front of him and he stopped in his tracks.

“Hey,” N greeted.

“Hi…” Taekwoon replied softly.

 “Taekwoon right?”

Taekwoon nodded.

“I’m Hakyeon, you remember me right?” N smiled as he extended his hand out.

“Yes…I do.” Taekwoon took N’s hand in his and shook it briefly before sliding his hand back into his pocket.

“Great, so where’s Jaehwan?” N asked.

Taekwoon shrugged. He looked around to try to spot him. “He didn’t come with you?”

“No,” N replied, “He said he was going to meet us here.”

“He told me the same thing.”

“That’s weird,” N sighed, “Maybe he’s just running a little late. Why don’t you just grab a pair of shoes and meet us in lane 6.” He flashed Taekwoon a bright smile and turned to leave.

He met up with Hongbin, Ravi, and Hyuk in the bowling lane.

“So what did Taekwoon say?” Hongbin asked as he made room for N on the long bench they all shared.

“He said Jaehwan told him to meet him here.” N answered, “He doesn’t know where Jaehwan is either.”

“Then where is he?” Ravi asked.

“I don’t know,” N shrugged, “Maybe he’s just a little late.”

“That’s not like him,” Hyuk commented, “You, yes, but not Ken.”

N scowled at him. “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. I’ll call him, but we shouldn’t think too much about it. I’m sure everything’s fine. Right now we try to have a good time until he shows up.”

...

Jaehwan gasped heavily filling his lungs with air as he gained consciousness. A dark fabric covered his entire head, blocking his vision. His hands were restrained, tied tightly around what felt like a wooden pole. He was beyond frightened, this wasn’t a dream or a simulation. This was real.

He suddenly felt vibration on his left thigh and screamed at the top of his lungs. Underneath his screeches of terror Jaehwan could hear a familiar jingle that seemed to accompany the vibrations on his thigh. He stopped screaming and toned in on the sound quickly realizing that it was his ringtone. He thanked god that whoever took him didn’t have the sense to take his phone.

Ken shapeshifted into a little boy. His hands were now so small that the restraints on them fell off. With free hands, Ken removed the dark sack on his head and his surroundings became clear. He was inside a molded wooden shed. Water leaked from the badly constructed ceiling and the floor was covered in sandy residue. Jaehwan shifted back into his normal self and pulled his cellphone out of his left pocket. He noticed he had serval missed calls from N and Taekwoon, the most recent call from N. He dialed N’s number and just as he was about to press the call button his hand was incased in a crimson red aura. It was like he was paralyzed. Despite his will, his hand would not move. It remained still, frozen.

“I’m sorry, but phones aren’t allowed here.”

Ken looked up from his hand to the direction of the voice. His eyes grew wide upon recognizing a familiar face he only saw in nightmares over the past two years.

“Glad to see you haven’t forgotten about me,” The man chuckled, noticing Ken’s expression.

“How…” Ken spoke, his mind racing at a pace his mouth couldn’t keep up with.

The man grinned, placing a finger to his lips. “It’s a secret.”

Ken lowered his head. He couldn’t bear to look at the man in front of him any longer, nor hold back the feelings that dwelled within him, as tears formed in his eyes.

The man tilted his head, “Are you crying?” He moved closer to Jaehwan, putting a hand on the weeping man’s chin. He pushed Jaehwan’s head up forcing him to face him. “Don’t cry Jaehwan,” the man smiled as he stared into Jaehwan’s tear filled eyes. “You’re making me laugh.”

He removed his hand from Jaehwan’s face and took his phone. “Now let’s see who you were trying to call for help.” The man looked at the screen and the grin on his face became a thin line.  “Hakyeon?!” the man yelled, “You we’re calling Hakyeon?!” he crushed the phone in his hands, throwing it through a nearby wall. His eyes flashed a bright red and the color in his skin began to fade. He grabbed Ken by the neck robbing him of his oxygen supply with his bare hand. Ken could feel himself become light headed as the constriction of his airways grew overwhelming.

The man released his grip on Ken’s throat and stood back. His shoulders heaved heavily as he tried to calm himself. The color returned to his flesh and his eyes returned to being a dark crimson red.

“I’m sorry,” the man said, “For a second there I really wanted to snap that neck of yours.” He placed a hand to his head and sighed. “It’s just…I don’t understand why you would think Hakyeon would save you? Did you forget the last time Hakyeon tried to save someone?”

“Don’t…” Jaehwan breathed. “Please…” He was too winded to say more.

“Don’t what Jaehwan? We both know what happened so why not talk about it?” The man frowned as he stared at the crown of Jaehwan’s head. “Look at me when I talk!”

Jaehwan lifted his head to face the man that held him captive.

“Thank you,” the man smiled, “Now where was I? Oh yeah…The last time Hakyeon tried to save someone I died.”