Author's Note: Here is the new chapter! Our girl is finally here! I have been working on this chapter since last year (get the joke?), so I hope you guys enjoy it! Comments are always welcomed :)

Happy New Year to all of you!!!

Devil’s Call

9:12 pm, Jan 21^st

          It had been almost 24 hours since V was last seen.

          The BTS boys were now attempting to sleep in their respective rooms at the dorm, having been ordered to rest by their worried managers. Even though the members had been awake for more than 30 hours, none of them were ready to fall asleep, as one could tell by the constant tossing and turning in every room. The anxiety and fear were too prominent in their minds for them to be peaceful enough for slumber.

          It had been a hectic morning.

          V’s frantic parents had arrived early in the morning, impatiently demanding to know everything about their son’s incident since the managers had not explained much on the phone. They were both beyond shocked to learn that V’s disappearance was likely to have been deliberate.

          V’s mother was in near hysterics when she rushed to the police station, only to find that nothing of value have been discovered. Upon hearing the standard apology and promise from the officers, she had exploded, accusing every one of their incompetence to take care of her son and vowing to destroy anyone who touched her precious baby should they ever be found.

          Her anger only lasted so long before horror and heartbreak took over and she broke into full-on sobbing. She cried for all the pain that her son must be going through and cried for not being a good enough mother, blaming herself for not being able to protect him better. It had taken almost an hour before her husband and several managers managed to calm her down.

          But that was not the only incident that made the morning distressing.

          As expected, the online news reporters had started to take notice of BTS’s unusual lack of schedules. They had contacted the managers for an explanation, and still managed to post articles with intriguing titles even when only vague answers were given, as per usual.

          Fans had already started to spread rumours based on these articles. Some suggested that BTS were ill, some thought they had gotten into an accident, while others believed that the group had gotten into a dispute with the company.

          These types of assumptions have always been monitored by the PR so they could quickly offer an explanation should the comments be over-exaggerated or bring the artists under a bad light. Unfortunately, this was one of the rare occasions where the netizen’s speculations were far less serious than the actual incident. But still, the managers kept an eye on the comments on various websites while the members rested in their rooms.

          So when Rap Monster came out of his room for some water, he could spot two of the managers huddled at the dinner table, scrolling though comments on an iPad and quietly discussing with each other.

          “You should get some sleep too, hyung.” Rap Monster suggested as he took a bottle of water out of the fridge, “It’s pretty late.”

          “Hmm, okay I will. You should go back to bed too.” One of managers looked up briefly as he absently agreed, while the other was still focused on the display of the tablet.

          Rap Monster swallowed a mouthful of water before he let out a deep sigh as he put down the bottle. His mood became more solemn as he asked the same question for the countless time that day, “Did you hear anything from the police?”

          “No, they haven’t contacted us yet.”

          Although the answer was disappointing, it wasn’t totally unexpected. He had, however, hoped that the answer would be different this time. He took another drink of water, and noted the manager’s rapt attention on the iPad.

          “Are those articles about us?” Even though he had not been in the mood to browse the internet, Rap Monster knew from his experiences that eye-catching articles must have been posted everywhere.

          “Yeah,” the same manager look up again, “they’re all just random guesses so far.” He paused slightly before he added a request, “Try to not let the boys read these, they’ll get more upset.”

          Rap Monster gave a slight nod. As team leader, he understood why the managers wanted to protect the members from reading the comments and feeling worse about the situation.

          But he was also slightly confused. There had been times when a few of the members were being openly attacked by netizens’ hateful accusations, but surely the harmless guesses about BTS’s current state were less severe than that. At least not severe enough for the manager to deliberately remind him to stay away from the internet.

          “What are you still standing there for?” The managers noticed that he was still staring them, “Go get some more rest.”

          This only increased Rap Monster’s suspicion. Why did they keep telling him to go back to bed? He had gotten plenty of rest already! Even though he had not been able to completely fall asleep, he had been lying in his bed since early afternoon. It was as if the managers wanted him to leave them alone. And why was the other manager so focused on the iPad?

          “Hyung, there really isn’t anything new?” He tried to confirm, and some doubt managed to sneak into his question.

          That got the other manager to look up, “Of course, we would tell you right away if something important came up.” The manager dropped his head back down, but not before the two manager briefly exchanged a look.

          The exchange did not go unnoticed by Rap Monster, he was now even more certain that the managers were trying to hide something. But the managers must have their reasons for not wanting to tell him, should he confront them or not?

          Before he could reach a decision, one of the bedroom doors behind him suddenly opened and someone hurried out.

          “Hyung, look at this!”

          Rap Monster turned back his head. Jimin was rushing up to them, bewilderment written on his face and a phone clutched in his right hand. He quickly showed the screen to everyone present, “Someone sent me this.”

          It was a text message, sent from V’s number.

          [Do not delete it. If you want him to live.]

          “Is this the kidnapper? What does he mean?” Jimin asked impatiently, anxiety and worry coloring his voice, “Don’t delete what?”

          As if the commotion was a fire alarm, the other bedroom doors were opened consecutively as all the members exited their rooms and gathered in the dining room. Held in their hands were their respective phones –  the real reason for them suddenly getting out of bed.

          Every device displayed the texting page, with the same message that was sent from V.

          [Do not delete it. If you want him to live.]

          The boys looked at their phones before looking at each other. Even though they did not completely understand what the message was pointing to, they all realized with a sinking heart that this was the first confirmation that V had been kidnapped. They could no longer fool themselves into thinking that perhaps V was simply lost and would return soon.

          Upon seeing the message and the members’ dread-filled faces, the managers shared a defeated look. One of them turned to get the iPad from the dining table, successfully getting the attention of the boys.

          “It just came out,” The other manager explained as his colleague handed him the tablet, “We were going to wait until it was investigated before telling you, but I guess it doesn’t matter now.”

          He turned the tablet around and the members hurriedly lowered their heads for a better look at the screen. He sighed helplessly as he pointed to the tweet that had started trending.

          “I think this is what the kidnapper is talking about.”

*Seoul is 14 hours ahead of Ottawa, so it’s 8:30 am, Jan 22^nd in Seoul, roughly 12 hours after the last segment

5:30 pm, Jan 21^st, Ottawa

          “Good afternoon, Emily.”

          The brunette girl that was locking her apartment door hesitated slightly before she realized that the greeting was directed at her. However, the hesitation that only lasted for a fraction of a second went unnoticed by the middle-aged woman as the girl smoothly finished her task at hand.

          “Good afternoon, Mrs. Johnson.” The girl replied quietly as she turned around with a gentle smile on her face.

          “I told you to call me Maria,” The woman chided jokingly as she stopped a few steps away from the girl, “Mrs. Johnson makes me sound old.”

          The girl simply released another timid smile, but provided no other comments on the subject as she politely dipped her head in acknowledgement. When she looked down, her thick eyelashes created a small area of shadow on her smooth and pale cheeks, while a few locks of hair fell from behind her ears and further shielded her thoughtful eyes.

          Right, she reminded herself, her name was Emily now. It was generally quite rare for her to be caught off guard, but the name still sounded a bit unfamiliar to her ears, considering that she had just moved here.

          Sensing that the woman still had more to say, the girl, Emily, raised her head and patiently waited for the next sentence as she pocketed her keys in her backpack.

          “Going to work now?” The woman inquired, as she occasionally did if she ran into the girl on her way home from the grocery store.

          The girl nodded, giving the woman the same answer that she had always given the few times that they had met.

          “Night shift again?” Mrs. Johnson wondered out loud. At Emily’s confirmation, her tone turned somewhat worrying, “Well be careful my dear, a pretty girl like you shouldn’t be alone in the streets at night.”

          “I will, thank you.” The girl expressed her gratitude for both the woman’s praise and concern before she turned for the exit, leaving the woman with a parting smile.

          The woman’s gaze chased the girl’s departing form for a few steps before she turned back her head and continued to her own apartment, the neighbours’ gossip no doubt rushing through her head.

          To everyone, which was only a few, who knew of the new resident in the 7th floor of the apartment building, Emily was a quiet and polite teenage girl who had a pitiful life.

          She was said to have lost both of her parents when she was young and had no other relatives since she was always by herself. She had just moved to the city for a change of life but must have been poor for money because she had started to work several night shifts as soon as she moved here. Her plain clothes and shy nature only further supported that idea. She was even rumored to have been dumped by her boyfriend, because there was no way that she didn’t have one before with looks as attractive as hers.

          All in all, she was a kind and beautiful Asian girl who should have had more luck and received more help in life. Her few recent acquaintances such as Mrs. Johnson, often felt pity for her when they ran into each other, and hoped for Emily’s case that she could soon get a better job and change her life for the better.

          But to the girl that had just exited the building, Mrs. Johnson’s hope for her couldn’t be less desired. She was actually very satisfied with her simple and boring life. In fact, she was so content that if she could be granted one single wish, she would wish for her life to stay peacefully the same and never ever change. Never ever change.

          Although there was plenty of public transportation that could take her to her workplace faster, the girl preferred to travel on foot. This way, there wouldn’t be people being pushed into her direction when it was rush hour, and she wouldn’t feel suffocated from the crowd that constantly surrounded her.

          As she strolled through the city under the darkening sky, her eyes took in all the details of the busy streets while her mind tried to block all the loud urban noises, except for the various conversations that consistently flowed into her ears.

          She would be lying if she said that she didn’t miss her hometown. Every now and then, her ears would pick up some Korean dialogue, leaving her with a sense of longing for the country that she had fled from not too long ago. To be honest, the chance of being able to be exposed to some Korean culture was one of the reasons why she had chosen to come to a big city. Even though not many people identified her as Korean anymore, there were certain aspects of her earlier life in Korea that she could never forget.

          For example, her original name, Han Sora.

          It was a name that she cherished in her heart but shied away from using. The name reminded her of her family, her carefree childhood, and her innocent self who believed in everything good in life.

          But it was also the name that had accompanied her through the most frightening days of her life and still haunted her every so often through nightmares. Just the thought of someone calling her by that name filled her with endless dread and fresh memories of being hopeless, so she sincerely hoped that the name would stay in her mind, and only her mind.

          But her old name was not the only thing that she occasionally missed, she noted and slowed her steps as a Korean restaurant came into view. The smell of BBQ and spices seemed to fill the air as she gradually passed by the store, the aroma reminding her of the dinners and late night snacks that she had with her parents.

          It had been a long time since she had last sat down and enjoyed a meal with anyone, she thought as she briefly glanced through the glass window. She couldn’t help but be a little bit envious of the people that chatted with each other as they enjoyed the delicious food and the upbeat music. A few customers seemed to be passionately gossiping about the latest celebrity news judging from their loud voices and excited gestures.

          The girl quirked her lips as she picked up the names of a few artists that were being discussed. Had she been gone from Korea for that long? Because she couldn’t seem to recognize any of the mentioned names.

          With one last glance at the busy restaurant, the girl picked up her pace as she continued towards her destination, locking the thoughts about her mother country away for the moment.

7:05 pm, Jan 21^st, Ottawa

          Among the few part-time jobs that Sora had, this one at the public library was definitely her favourite. Aside from being quiet, her work as a helper was also fairly light. There was often enough free time for her to read after she had finished returning the borrowed books to the shelves and organizing them.

          Today’s shift had proceeded in the usual manner, with her pushing the cart full of books through the book isles and occasionally stopping to pick up one or two stray books. Nothing was out of the ordinary, until the hushed conversation between a few girls caught her attention.

          She usually paid no mind to the interactions that occurred at her workplaces, both out of politeness and indifference. What piqued her interest this times was not only due to the girls conversing in her mother tongue, but also because the object of their gossip had already been mentioned by the restaurant customers earlier that night.

          She silently inched her cart closer to their table as she focused intently on their whispers.

          “Have you guys heard the latest news? About the idol?”

          “You know I’m not really into K-pop, how would I know?”

          “How can you not know?!” One of the girls seemed shocked by her friend’s ignorance. “This must be the biggest news of the year! A boy group’s member has been kidnapped!”

          “Seriously? When did this happen?”

          “Not long ago. The news said it’s only been about a day.” Another girl explained as she picked up her phone, “Here, let me show you the article. There was also this tweet that was totally scary.”

          “Who is it?”

          “He’s called V, from BTS. And he’s really young, I think only 22.” No more explanations were made as the girls leaned over the table to read the page that had just finished loading.

          By now, Sora had come quite close to the table. The word “kidnapped” had ignited feelings that she had thought were deeply buried and she felt a strong urge to check the victim of this unfortunate incident. So she naturally pushed the cart past the girls’ table as she sneaked a peak at the phone’s screen. The face of a handsome young boy could be seen accompanied by a large title written in bolded words.

          The moment that the face was registered by her eyes, distant and vague memories began to dance in her head and the image of a boy with a similar looking face flashed through her mind, giving her a sense of déjà vu. Have I met this boy before? She was unsure.

          Before she could pinpoint the origin of that image or clear her foggy memories, her cart had already been pushed past the girls’ table, preventing her from reading more of that article without getting the girls’ attention.

          Where did those memories come from? Did I know that person? Sora pondered as she aimlessly walked. The more that her thoughts lingered on this subject, the more she felt like she was missing something important.

          Unable to contain her curiosity any more, she swiftly turned the cart around and hurriedly headed for the computer section of the library. She quickly logged in with her employee ID before opening a Korean search engine and typed in the words “BTS” and “V”.

          Although Sora did not completely seclude herself from the ongoing world, she had never felt the need to constantly update her knowledge of the recent news and gossip. Before today, she was even proud of living a quiet and undisturbed life.

          But in this moment, she couldn’t despise herself more for being uncaring towards the current news, especially those that came from her home country, Korea.

          Her simple search had returned with countless results, all of them linked with the word “kidnapped”. She could feel her breathing getting faster as she clicked open the first article that was written only a few hours ago.

Popular Boy Group Member Kidnapped!

          “It has been confirmed that the 22-year-old boy, V (Kim Taehyung), a member of a popular K-pop boy group BTS has been missing for over 24 hours. The police had stated earlier that the young man has not been seen since 11pm, Jan 20^th, and they were doing their best to investigate his disappearance.

          However, a very disturbing SNS message has been posted by the BTS’s official twitter account last night. In the uploaded picture, the missing boy group member could be seen constrained in an unknown location, and the picture was accompanied by a mysterious message left by the uploader. It is widely speculated that the idol has been kidnapped, and aggravated fans around the world are demanding for an update on his case. But so far, the company has released no official statement regarding this message.”

          As Sora scrolled down the page, a screen shot of the mentioned tweet revealed itself, causing her to temporarily stop breathing.

          In the picture, a young disheveled man could be seen sitting on a bed, hugging his legs to his chest. What undoubtedly caught everyone’s attention, were the shiny metal cuffs that were attached to the bed. The frightened expression was so prominent on his face that one almost couldn’t recognize him as the confident and well-kept idol that had once performed on stage.

          But the familiar sight of the chains, the bed, and the room were not what had instilled the most amount of fear in Sora’s tensed up body.

          It was the text itself.

          [It is time for you to stop hiding. Come to the place that we had last been together, and bring back what’s mine. You know exactly what will happen to the boy if you are late. You have 48 hours before I start.]

          Sora sat frozen in her seat, as her muscles seemed to have stopped working. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, and she wanted to hide. Mostly, she felt like her world was coming to an end.

          She knew who the kidnapper was, and she knew what he wanted. She had always known deep inside that it was foolish of her to think that he could possibly forget her after she had left.

          It was the devil.

          And he was calling for her.

          Calling for her to return him, and return to the darkest days of her existence.