Jung Yunho stood in his office, standing next to the window that overlooked Seoul. Such a sight usually calmed Yunho. Seoul was always a bustling city; nothing stayed still for more than a second. However, watching the chaos below usually distracted Yunho from the stress from above.

Yunho heard the door open, but didn’t bother to turn around. He already knew who it was.

“Yunho,” Jaejoong said, his voice more gentle than normal. He sighed. “They told me you’d still be here.”

Yunho bit his lip before turning around to face his friend.

“This isn’t over,” Jaejoong reassured him. “We know that Kim Jinwoo paid some witnesses off and threatened the rest. You couldn’t control that.”

Yunho shook his head. “I could lose this case,” he said. “Kim Jinwoo has killed at least twelve people. He needs to be imprisoned!”

“You don’t think I know that?” Jaejoong asked. “We’ll just have to do more work, but we can make sure we win the trial and put him behind bars.”

Yunho felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, but he ignored it. He didn’t feel like talking to anyone else. “Kim Jinwoo kept telling me that I had no chance.”

“And he’s wrong,” Jaejoong countered. “You’re not scared of him, unlike a lot of prosecutors. You’re one of the few that he can’t control.”

Yunho nodded. “I know,” he replied. “I’m just at a complete loss here. I thought for sure we had everything we needed in order to win.”

“You do,” Jaejoong said. “We just need a different approach.”

Yunho sighed. “Which I feel that I’m running out of,” he admitted in defeat.

“We still have two witnesses against him,” Jaejoong reminded him. “They may provide us with a lot more help than you realize.”

Yunho nodded. He suddenly felt a little better at Jaejoong’s words. The older one always had that effect on him, for which he was very grateful.

“Why don’t you just go home?” Jaejoong suggested.

“How can I go home when-”

“You’re not at your best when you’re like this,” Jaejoong reminded him. “Go home. Get some rest. We can come up with a new game plan tomorrow.” He smiled. “Spend some time with Changmin. I know he won’t admit it, but he probably misses you.”

Yunho sighed. Jaejoong had a good point. It had been a while since Yunho got to spend some quality time with his little brother. “Fine,” he surrendered. “But I’ll be back here 8 in the morning.”

Jaejoong nodded. “I know you will,” he said. “And I’ll be here too.”

Before Yunho could say anything else, the door to his office flew open. The two men in the room turned to see the panicked receptionist at the doorway.

“Juhyun,” Yunho said in concern. He had never seen her like this, and couldn’t begin to imagine what could cause her to be in this state.

“The police called,” Juhyun answered before Yunho could say anything else. Noticing the worried looks on Yunho and Jaejoong’s faces, she continued. “They said they called your cell phone first but you didn’t answer.”

Yunho pulled out his phone to see the alert of a missed call. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“What’s going on, Juhyun?” Jaejoong finally asked. Yunho missing phone calls wasn’t an unusual thing, and Jaejoong felt chills run through his spine at the shakiness of Juhyun’s voice. If this had something to do with a case, Juhyun wouldn’t be acting like this.

Even if it had to do with one that seemed impossible to win.

“Mr. Jung,” she said softly. “Someone took Changmin.”

Yunho looked up. “What did you say?” he asked breathlessly.

“I’m so sorry,” Juhyun said, her eyes watering as she continued speaking. “S-someone kidnapped Changmin.”

“No,” Yunho breathed out. He ran his fingers through his hair. “No. No. What’s really going on?” There was a lump suddenly forming in his throat, and Yunho was finding it harder to breathe.

Jaejoong noticed this immediately, and led his friend to the chair at his desk. “Breathe, Yunho,” he commanded, rubbing Yunho’s back. That was the only way he knew how to comfort him. Jaejoong looked towards Juhyun. “Did they say anything else?”

Juhyun swallowed. “It happened near his school campus,” she answered.

“I’m gonna call Changmin,” Yunho suddenly announced.

Jaejoong didn’t have the heart to tell his friend that Changmin wouldn’t answer. He knew that Yunho just wanted to make sure for himself.

With trembling hands, Yunho quickly dialed Changmin’s number before placing the phone to his ear. A moment later and “he’s not picking up.”

Jaejoong saw the color leave from Yunho’s face. “Yunho, let’s not panic yet,” he said. “You won’t help Changmin that way.”

As if on cue, Yunho’s phone rang at that moment. The caller ID showed a blocked number, and Yunho was sure that it was no coincidence that a blocked number would call him right after receiving news that his brother was taken.

“Hello?” Yunho answered the phone. He tried to sound as calm as possible, but he was sure he was failing.

“Nice to hear from you, Prosecutor Jung. Changmin’s stay here would have been much harder if you had avoided my call.”

The voice sounded unfamiliar to Yunho, so the possibility of finding out who could have done this was already low. “Where’s Changmin?” Yunho asked. “I want to speak to him.”

“You can,” the man responded. “But I want you and I to talk first.”

“Not until I know that Changmin is okay!” Yunho ordered, standing up from his chair.

“Calm down, Jung Yunho,” he warned. “Remember that Changmin is counting on you to not upset me.”

Yunho bit his lip to avoid saying the first thing that popped into his head. “Okay,” he finally said after taking a deep breath. “Tell me what you want but please...don’t hurt Changmin.” He didn’t care how pathetic he might have sounded. He needed to make sure Changmin returned home safe.

“That’s the spirit, Yunho.” There was a long pause. “I’ve come to find out that a friend of mine is currently facing a trial being led by you.”

Yunho felt his heart rate increase. He already had a feeling he knew where this conversation was going to go from here.

“I want everything you have on Kim Jinwoo. This trial won’t continue, and Jinwoo walks away.”

Yunho scoffed. “That’s illegal,” he said. “Besides, after everything your friend has done, he doesn’t deserve to just walk away.”

“But does your brother deserve to die?” the man asked, causing Yunho’s eyes to widen. “Because you do realize that if we don’t get what we want, you don’t get back Changmin?”

“You shouldn’t even have brought Changmin into this,” Yunho countered, though he remembered to not yell before the man did something to Changmin.

“What’s more important?” the man asked. “The law? Or your brother?”

Yunho bit his lip.

“You have twenty-four hours, Jung Yunho,” the man warned.

“Can I speak to Changmin?” Yunho asked.

“A deal is a deal,” the man replied.

Yunho heard shuffling before Changmin’s voice sounded over the phone. “Hyung?”

Yunho immediately picked up on the fact that something wasn’t right. “Changmin-ah,” he said. “Are you okay?”

“Mm...yes…”

The anger Yunho was already feeling immediately doubled. He drugged him. That man actually drugged his little brother. “Changmin. Everything’s going to be fine, okay? I’ll get you home as soon as I can.”

“I...know.”

“Time’s up,” the kidnapper said.

“You drugged him,” Yunho said, clenching his fist.

“Couldn’t risk him causing any trouble,” he replied. “Get us what we need. In the meantime, We’ll give you four hours until the next call; you know...to make sure you staying focused.”

“Fine,” Yunho said begrudgingly.

There was a short chuckle that made Yunho shiver. “And just to make sure you stay motivated…”

Yunho’s heart began to race. “No,” he said, ignoring the questioning looks from Juhyun and Jaejoong. “You don’t need to-”

His words were cut off by the sound of Changmin’s screaming.

“Stop!” Yunho begged. “Stop please!”

“We’re serious, Yunho,” the man said after Changmin’s screams died down. “Don’t play any games or we’ll do a lot worse. Are we clear?”

Yunho nodded, before realizing that he couldn’t be seen over the phone. “Yes,” he said breathlessly. “You’re clear. Just leave Min alone.”

“By the way, it’s best we not get the police involved. I would hate to have to put a bullet through Changmin’s brain.”

The call ended after that. Yunho collapsed back into his chair, waiting for the room to stop spinning.

Changmin felt a sharp sting on his cheek.

“Wake up,” a voice said. It sounded so far away. Under normal circumstances, Changmin would have recognized the aggression behind the voice. But for some reason, Changmin couldn’t put together much of anything right now. His body felt heavy, like a block of lead; and his mind seemed so clouded.

Changmin’s hands were tied behind him; he only realized that after something struck his cheek once more. Changmin tried to swat away whatever it was, but felt something cutting into his wrists instead.

“Stop,” Changmin whined. The sound of his own voice shocked him. Why did he sound so pathetic?

“He’s waking up,” another voice said. “Get the phone.”

Changmin finally forced his eyes open. He panicked slightly when all he saw was blackness, before he realized he was blindfolded. The tight fabric around his head and covering his eyes gave him the confirmation he needed.

“Where’m I?” he asked, wishing his words would stop slurring, but he was so tired and confused.

“Don’t ask too many questions and just do what we say,” the first voice commanded. Now that the voice sounded less muffled to Changmin, he could hear how gravelly the man’s voice sounded, and i