The rain is coming down hard, the windows covered with raindrops. It had been raining all morning and now in the early hours of the afternoon it had started to develop into a thunderstorm. Baekhyun loved thunderstorms; they gave him time to think. His situation's been a little dire as of late and he needed time to think over how he would be getting himself out of his current situation. He got himself involved in a nasty scandal recently and was certainly feeling the consequences of it. He felt as if almost all of his fans have turned against him as well as Korea's general public. s thankfully were on his side, though he did get quite the scolding from Junmyeon. It would all blow over within a month or two; all scandals do. It's not like he was involved with drugs or an assault case so in hindsight it couldn't ruin his career too badly. He knew it looked pretty damning on his side, but he could get away with it by lying, but then again he didn't want to play his fans dirty like that, especially when it was so obvious what he had been doing at that man's apartment. And that man- goddammit. Baekhyun actually trusted him despite only knowing him for a few days. When looking back he shouldn't have been surprised that he took pictures of him in his sleep, but Baekhyun always loved to give people the benefit of the doubt and see the best in everyone. It was one of his strengths and his weaknesses. Along with that he just wanted to feel normal for once; enjoy the company of someone and forget that he was an idol for the night. Clearly he had been asking for too much.

A soft and damp towel thrown to the back of Baekhyun's head was enough to pull him out of his thoughts. "What was that for?" He snorts and grabs the towel before pressing it gently to his face. 

"You looked hot." Jongdae responds simply while pressing his own towel to his face. 

"Thanks." He says and sends a playful wink to the other, Jongdae snorting in response. They were in the practice room, having just finished going over one of their dances for an upcoming single. They were both drenched in sweat, much like the other seven members in the room with them. Baekhyun looked upset and while he was often good at hiding his emotions, Jongdae always caught on quickly. "Don't let the scandal get to you too much. You aren't the first idol to be caught in someone's bed. Remember what happened with Big Bang's Seungri all those years ago? That didn't end his career."

"He was also with a woman." 

"But she also claimed that he choked her and then threw a towel at her." He says flatly. "Sure, he got in some trouble but it blew over. Yours will too." 

"YG didn't completely strip him of his lines though. They didn't silence him in interviews and they most certainly didn't ignore it."

"True up until you said they didn't ignore it. The only one who acknowledged that was G-Dragon who apologized on Seungri's behalf. The company itself ignored the whole scandal." He places a hand on Baekhyun's shoulder and gives him a comforting squeeze. "Things will get better. You'll see. You'll be belting out your lines before you know it. Just be patient and let this blow over peacefully."

"Jongdae?" He's about to head back over to the rest of the group when Baekhyun's timid voice stops him. He turns to look at the shorter male, his eyebrows furrowed slightly at the other who was shifting anxiously in his spot. "I, uh..." his eyes dart around the room nervously as if he were afraid someone would overhear him. "You think so? For real?" There's a look behind Baekhyun's eyes that Jongdae hasn't seen before and it's enough to make him instantly worried. Before he can fully question what he means or comfort the other their trainer is calling them back over to continue their dance practice. "Nevermind. Forget it. Thank you." Baekhyun says softly and shoots a beaming smile his way before jogging over to the middle of the room. Jongdae swore that his smile was hiding something.

Jongin has a near permanent scowl sketched onto his face as Junmyeon straps a body camera onto his chest. "Stop giving me that look." He mumbles before taking a step back. He silently admires his handiwork as he looks between Jongin, Kyungsoo, and Jongdae. 

"Is this really necessary?" Jongin mumbles as he glances down at the small camera. 

"I'm sorry; am I missing something here? You want to be on the look out for a possible killer or some deranged lunatic who might kidnap you without a body camera? Don't be stupid." He mumbles as Yixing opens his laptop at the dining table. Minseok, Chanyeol, and Sehun are standing around Yixing as they watch him with heavy interest. "By doing this we can see what exactly you're seeing and we can even help you. We might see something that you miss." He says and glances back at Yixing. "He just has to get it set up and then we'll be able to see everything you're filming through his laptop."

"I never knew you were so tech savvy, Yixing." Sehun says in awe. Yixing just smiles bashfully in response, Chanyeol flashing a thumbs up to Junmyeon once everything was up and running on the laptop. "Okay, we can see what you're filming, you guys can venture on out now." Minseok hums and pats Yixing on the back. 

"You guys are just staying near the dorms, right? How far out are you guys going?" Junmyeon asks with worry lacing his tone. 

"We'll be okay, Junmyeon. There's three of us; someone would be crazy to try and do anything. We won't be too far." Kyungsoo gently reassures the other. It's not like he was lying, Junmyeon would definitely find out thanks to their body cameras. The three take turns hugging Junmyeon to ease his worry before heading outside. It was decided the prior day that they would only investigate Baekhyun's case in groups; it was safer that way. Junmyeon had made it clear from the start that no one would be going out alone and if someone thought they discovered something groundbreaking, Junmyeon would be notified immediately as well as the rest of the members. It was the only way to keep everyone absolutely safe. The last thing Junmyeon needed was another member going missing and having to attend another bodiless funeral. He thought he was being reasonable. 

The first group to be going out consisted of Jongdae, Kyungsoo, and Jongin. Minseok originally wanted to go in Jongin's place, though the younger continuously whined until he was given his way. Junmyeon wasn't exactly thrilled that one of the youngest members would be in the first search party. If anything, Junmyeon wanted to keep Sehun and Jongin out of this as much as possible, though he knew everyone was close to Baekhyun and that it wouldn't be fair to keep them from participating. As soon as the trio stepped outside they were met with the harsh dry and cold air, Jongdae shrinking into his coat; it was pretty cold for November. "Where should we look first?" Jongin asks as the three stand idly in the parking lot. Kyungsoo chews on his bottom lip as he looks around; it was dark, no later than ten at night. The streets were for the most part empty with only a few cars driving by here and there after a long day of work. "Well," Kyungsoo can see his breath as he speaks and it somehow manages to make him feel even colder, "I think we should start in the alleyways." Jongin and Jongdae agree before Jongdae hears his phone ringtone from his pocket. He swiftly pulls out his phone, swiping to unlock it and opens the message. He snorts quietly after a moment before turning to look at the other two. 

"Junmyeon says absolutely no alleyways." 

"Is there not a way to mute our cameras?" Jongin mumbles as he looks down and fiddles with the small device that was latched onto his jacket. 

"We should be realistic anyways." Jongdae sighs as he slips his phone back into his pocket. "We need to think like Baekhyun. He would never step anywhere near an alleyway at night; especially when he's alone. You know how paranoid he can be." Kyungsoo nods in agreement and glances back at the alleyway that was located next to their dorm building. He tightens the green scarf around his neck, bringing it closer to his face so his nose and lips can hide from the chilly air behind the warm fabric. 

"Why would he even leave the dorms so late at night anyways? What would be so important for him to leave?" Jongin stuffs his hands into his pockets, the gloves he was wearing not doing its job in keeping his hands warm. Jongdae pulls down on his beanie as he furrows his eyebrows in thought. "Groceries maybe?" He suggests.

"Not a chance. I remember cooking a large meal for everyone that night and that would have meant that the groceries were already stocked." Kyungsoo argues as