Elle’s heart leapt into as her phone vibrated, signaling the arrival of a text, and sunk as she glanced down at her phone.  It wasn’t him.  One would think that after two months, she would have given up on hearing from him, and her mind had.  Her heart, however, still did its little acrobatics routine every time she got a call or text.  It was entirely illogical.  She knew the statistics.  It had been too long.  The probability of finding him alive was almost zero.  She also knew that she was being unreasonable in hoping that if he was found that he would let her know before she heard about it in the news.  After all, they had only met twice and the first time was quite by accident.

That first meeting had been one that happens only in stories or daydreams.  Her colleagues at the university in Seoul where Elle taught mathematics as a visiting professor had finally convinced her to go out clubbing with them.  Now, normally she preferred to spend her Friday nights in her apartment, sitting on her couch reading a book with a mug of coffee and her cat on her lap.  But after weeks of cajoling, she finally agreed to forgo her precious plans one Friday night and join a few of the other young professors at what they assured her was the best club in all of Seoul.  She agreed mainly because she figured they would leave her alone if she went once.  And that’s how she found herself in a loud club full of young people drinking copious amounts of alcohol and generally making fools of themselves.  This was definitely not her scene, but she managed to act like she was having a good time for her colleagues’ sakes.

After nearly an hour of sitting at their table watching people dance, Elle decided that she would probably need a drink in order to actually make it through the night with her sanity.  She excused herself and picked out a drink at the bar.  As she fought her way back through the crowd, she accidentally ran into a well-dressed man, spilling her drink all over his jacket.  Mortified, she bowed and apologized profusely.

“It’s okay.  No harm done.”  The man’s voice sounded familiar, and Elle looked up at him for the first time.  She froze.  She had just spilled her drink all over Kyuhyun, her bias in the pop group Super Junior.  Heat flooded her face.  What had she just done? 

He shrugged off his now alcohol covered jacket and smiled at her.  “See?  Nothing got on my shirt, so it’s fine.”  His eyes took in the blush that had turned her entire face a bright shade of red under her makeup.  Having pale skin was sometimes more of a curse than a blessing, especially when it came to being embarrassed. 

“I’m so sorry.  I wasn’t looking where I was going, and-” she stumbled over her words, having unusual trouble with her Korean. 

“You’ll just have to make it up to me.”  Kyuhyun smiled at her again, took her arm and led her to an empty table.  “This your first time here?”  He sat down across from her and crossed his legs, looking for all the world like she was the most interesting person there. 

Elle nodded, “I don’t usually go to clubs.”

“I can tell, you stick out like a sore thumb.  Well aside from the obvious reasons, anyway.  What brings you to Korea?”

“Work.  I’m a visiting professor at a university not too far from here.”

“Oh?  What do you teach?”

“Mathematics.” 

He gave her an intrigued look, and then spent the next hour and a half coaxing information out of her.  After a while, she stopped merely answering questions and actually started enjoying the conversation.   Before he left, he asked for her phone number, which she gave, willingly.  He said that he’d think of a way she could repay him for the ruined jacket, winked and left.  And that was the end of their first meeting.

Their second meeting came after several weeks of texting back and forth.  Casually, Kyuhyun asked her to meet him in a little-used public park a few blocks from her apartment.  They sat on the swings and talked for hours, until the looming threat of too little sleep and an early morning drew Elle away. 

Just when Elle began to think that the unthinkable had happened, that Kyuhyun might actually ask her out, it happened.  He stopped responding to her texts.  She got worried when he didn’t answer her phone calls, or show up where they had agreed to meet a few days later.  Her fears were confirmed when it was leaked to the press that Kyuhyun had disappeared without a trace the day after they had met at the park.  The police couldn’t find any leads as to what happened.  It was as if he had simply vanished into thin air.

Elle sat at her desk in her office at the university, the light from the setting sun streaming in through the window.  Her phone, sitting on the desk by her keyboard, lit up.  Her heart did another round of acrobatics.  It was her mom.  She answered the text and went back to typing away on her computer.  This paper wasn’t going to LaTex itself.   She tried to concentrate for another hour or so, before saving and shutting down her computer.  Tomorrow.  She would finish this section tomorrow. 

To get to her apartment from the school, she had to take the subway and then walk four blocks, take a left and walk another block to her apartment building.  All in all, it usually took her about 30 minutes to get to and from the university.  Her ride on the subway was quiet for that time of night, which gave her time to think.  Maybe she would finish that chalk pastel drawing she had been working on before going to bed.  It only needed a few more finishing touches and then she could take it outside and spray it with a fixative to keep it from smudging.  It might be good to work on her creative endeavors as a nice counterpoint to her research. 

She walked the first two blocks towards her apartment before she realized that she was being followed.  Two rather large men were walking casually in her direction a little ways behind her.  Normally, she might have thought that they just happened to be walking in the same direction, but something about these men gave her the creeps.  From the moment she noticed them, her instincts were screaming at her to run.  But, she didn’t.  She tried to walk calmly, thinking that if she could just get a little closer to home before she ran she would have a better chance of making it.  By the end of the third block, she realized that they were slowly gaining on her.  After she turned the corner onto her street, she took off running towards her building.  She never saw where they came from.  A hand holding a rag that smelled strongly of chloroform clamped over her nose and mouth.  Before she out she wondered vaguely who would take care of her cat.

 

The room Elle woke up in was well lit and decorated in a very modern, tasteful style.  She was laying on a very comfortable chaise lounge in what looked like the modern equivalent of a sitting room.  Tall windows looked out over mountains and valleys far closer than she was used to seeing.  From the vantage point of the windows, the room must be in a building on one of the mountains in whatever range this was. 

Elle looked around, blinking in the light, and wishing her head would clear.  It felt like she was trying to think through a thick fog, or maybe that someone had stuffed her head full of wool.  Her eyes landed on a girl standing a few feet away, smiling a friendly smile.  The girl couldn’t have been more than 15 or 16, with bright aqua green eyes and curly hair the color of honey.  She was dressed in a pale blue sundress with a pastel purple sash around the middle and no shoes.  She looked friendly and sweet, but something about her felt off to Elle’s drugged mind.  The girl’s smile widened as Elle sat up. 

“I’m glad you’re awake.  How are you feeling?”  The girl’s voice had the feel of a gentle song, soft and sweet, but that feeling that something was wrong with her grew stronger in Elle’s mind. 

“I think I’m okay.”  Elle finished sitting up and tried to look around.  It felt wrong to look at the girl.  “Where am I?”

“My castle.  It’s recently been remodeled.  What do you think of it?”

There was a hint of a threat in the last question, so subtle that Elle almost missed it.  “It’s lovely.” 

“Good.  I think you’ll like it here.”  The girl gave a little delighted laugh and bounded gracefully to the dark wooden door that contrasted with the light colors that made up the rest of the room.  “Come on.  I’ll show you around.”  She opened the door and turned back to Elle.  “Oh, by the way, my name is Illeana.  It really is a pleasure to finally meet you Elle.”

Elle made a noise of agreement.  Despite the bright colors and Illeana’s cheery attitude, something felt very wrong here.  There was an undercurrent of danger running through her mind that made her want to flee and never look back.  However, she decided it was probably best to do as Illeana asked.  At least, for now.  She stood and followed Illeana out of the sitting room. 

Illeana walked her through the castle, pointing out useful rooms like the kitchen and the dining room.  Everywhere they went, people dressed in expensive clothes in all styles and colors, stopped whatever they were doing and bowed to Illeana.  They ranged in age from as young as 10 years old to nearly 30.  None older than that.  Each one wore different clothes, as if picked out specifically to suit their distinct body types and colorations.  Some of them played pool in one of the game rooms, others sat eating in the dining room that was set up like a cafeteria, and still others hurried about in their fancy clothes cleaning and running errands.  They all greeted Illeana with the kind of respect that was born out of fear.

Eventually, Illeana led Elle up a set of wide stairs that were devoid of people, a big change from the rest of the castle.  They climbed up into what seemed like a tower.  By the time they reached the top of the stairs, Elle was breathing heavily, but it felt like her mind had cleared itself of its drug-induced haze.  They stood in a large, well appointed den area, full of plush chairs and couches, a TV with several different game systems, a bookshelf that took up nearly an entire wall and was nearly full to bursting with books of all kinds, among other things.  There were also three doors that led off to other rooms. 

Letting Elle catch her breath, Illeana turned to her and smiled again.  “This is where you will stay.  Allow me to introduce you to the others.”  She knocked gently on the door directly across from them.  It opened to reveal a beautiful girl in her late teens, perhaps early twenties with wavy blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes who bowed to Illeana smoothly before stepping out into the den. 

Illeana turned back towards Elle.  “Elle, this is Cammie.  Cammie, this is Elle.  I hope you two will get along famously.”  Cammie gave Illeana a gorgeous smile and Elle an unreadable look. 

“I’m sure we’ll be the best of friends.” 

“I’m glad to hear it.”  Illeana sounded as if she didn’t expect any other answer.  She turned and knocked on the door to Elle’s right.  This time, Elle knew the person who opened the door and bowed to Illeana.  It was Kyuhyun.  He gave Elle a wary smile and turned his attention back to the girl in front of him.

“Elle, I know you already know Kyuhyun, but I wanted to introduce him anyway.”  Illeana gave the three of them a beaming smile.  “I have an appointment in a few minutes, so I want you two to tell Elle the rules.”  She turned to Elle and her smile grew even wider.  Elle turned cold.  She still didn’t know what it was about, but the sense of danger emanating from Illeana’s seemingly cheerful demeanor grew stronger. 

“You’re going to like it here, Elle.  I think you’ll be one of my favorites for a long time.”