Joy opened her eyes and then closed it instinctively. It was bright. Her whole body ached. Her head spun.

“Stand up, kid.”

She felt a grip on her upper arm. Her reaction was automatic. In one second, she had the guy on the ground, face down. In another, she had one of her arms on the back of his neck and her other arm threatening to break his.

He wasn’t too big. Wasn’t small either. Definitely a goon. She saw the maple leaf tattoo on the arm she had in a lock. He was struggling and growling and cursing. None of that would help him in any sort of way.

Pathetic. Weak. Stupid.

Slow claps. Light, feminine laughter.

Joy looked up. And froze.

“No way.”

Wendy sat in one of the armchairs. She played back the video over and over and over again. The surroundings were a blinding white. Joy was the focus of the video. She was sitting in the middle of the room with her arms and legs crossed. She was glaring at the person behind the camera.

“As you can see, we have your pretty friend here hostage. So, you’ll play a game with me, alright?”

Wendy had been surprised in the beginning to hear a woman’s voice. Smooth but not quite soft. Commanding.

“So, it’s approximately half past ten. I’ll give you until midnight tonight to figure out the place we’re at, and save your friend. You wouldn’t want her to end up like that poor boy, would you? Park Chunghee? Park Chungho? Something like that. But don’t worry, she’ll be well taken care of until then. Anything you want to say, sweetie?”

Joy smirked, uncrossed her arms, leaned back, and raised her middle finger. “Go yourself.”

“Feisty,” the woman said. She chuckled. “I’ll see you soon! The clues will be sent in due time. Goodbye for now!”

The video ended there.

Wendy had tried to track down the text message. No luck. She hadn’t expected it anyway. Yeri was sitting on the couch with a blank expression. Wendy had tried to comfort the girl but it had ultimately ended with Yeri rejecting her. Wendy had settled for the armchair. Park Sujin was still in her room. She knew nothing. It was better that way. At least, until Irene and Seulgi got back.

The door burst open and Seulgi stormed in. Her eyes were wide. Her breathing ragged.

“What the hell happened?”

Wendy put down her laptop. Picked up her phone and handed it to Seulgi. She heard the familiar playback. Saw Seulgi’s hand clench around her phone. Wendy was afraid the device would collapse under her force. Then, she heard her scoff at the same time Joy told the woman to go herself.

Irene had been quietly watching the video from behind Seulgi. She stepped forward and took it out of her hand. Wendy walked up to her and stood beside her. Irene paused the video. Zoomed in on something. The muzzle of a pistol.

Seulgi laughed and shook her head. “Put it up to Joy to mouth off at gunpoint.”

Wendy suddenly felt herself being pushed aside and then the phone was in Yeri’s hand. She was staring at the screen with intensity.

“We need to find her.”

Her voice was quiet. To the point that it was practically whisper. But the determination was there. The passion was there. Wendy hesitantly put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. This time, she didn’t reject it.

“We will find her. Come on, we have the agency’s two angels here. The top two of Korea. We can do this.”

“Plus, the behind the camera said it was a game to her. I’m good at games. Don’t worry. We’ll have her back in no time. And it really doesn’t seem like Joy’s too uncomfortable.”

Seulgi displayed the screen. Joy had a smirk plastered across her face. She was raising her middle finger in the air.

Yeri laughed.

Wendy’s brows lifted. That had been the first time she’d seen Yeri laugh before. The girl looked more her age. Less serious, less adult-like. Like she was supposed to be.

Yeri calmed down. Smiled fondly at the phone screen.

“Yeah, she’ll be fine.”

Irene walked up the stairs and into the guest room. They’d just briefed Park Sujin about their predicament. She pulled out her phone and put in a call.

“Irene? What a surprise! Are you in Seoul around now?”

“Joy’s been taken hostage.”

A pause. “What?”

“She’s being held hostage by the Maple Leaf. They have her.”

“I’ll call in backup. We’ll find her.”

“No. Whoever the person behind this is, wants to play a game. She’s going to give us clues. We can find her ourselves.”

“Irene, this isn’t a game. You know that. I know you don’t care much for them, but - .”

“I do care. We’ll find her.”

Another pause. A sigh. “Alright. But only because I trust you. Do you have anything else you need from me?”

“Yes. Can you get someone to interrogate Jung Junhan?”

“Jung Junhan? Jung & Co. What about him? He’s involved in this?”

“Yes. He’s involved in this.”

“And you decided to leave me out on that.”

“He was best friend’s with the victim. And Seulgi and I were just about to go to interrogate him. I think the Maple Leaf are trying to keep us away from him.”

“You’re right. I’ll have someone on it. Update me soon. Please. And be careful.”

“Okay.”

Call ended.

Irene pocketed her phone. Stood up. The door flew open. Wendy was holding her phone in one hand. Her eyes wide.

“A clue. We have a clue.”

“Where the rich men played in the olden days and the bell rang loud with a rowdy crowd. What the hell does that even mean?” Seulgi asked, handing the phone over to Irene.

Irene scanned the text. “No wordplay. This is a riddle. The last time they set up bombs in famous places in Seoul. Wendy, search up famous attractions in Daegu.”

“Already on it.”

A few rapid keystrokes later, Wendy laughed.

“Look at this. That riddle’s actually pretty witty.”

Irene moved to stand behind her. She looked over the woman’s shoulder.

“Gyeongsang-gamyeong Park.”

“Of course. Where the rich men played in the olden days. They’re not wrong,” Seulgi said. “But what about the second part?”

Wendy clicked on images. “Yeah. They have a bell there, too.”

“Well, aren’t they nice, going easy on us,” Seulgi said.

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