♫ Kim Taeyeon - Rescue Me

“I haven’t met anyone that made me want to stay with them, more than I wanted to go and rescue you.”

- Jillian Dodd

“The number you have dialed is currently busy. Please try again later.” The automated voice said over the phone.

“Dammit! Why isn’t she picking up!” Chaeyeon exclaimed has she rushed down the emergency stairs of her apartment complex.

“And why the heck did she send me that text?” Chaeyeon frustratingly added as she untied her kitchen apron from around her waist and threw it to the ground.

Suddenly her phone rang.

“Eunbi unnie!!! What is going on?!” She shouted into the phone.

“We lost her! We can’t find her anywhere. I know I shouldn’t be contacting you but, I need you to come to the hospital as fast as you can ok? I’ll send you the address.” Eunbi replied, panicking.

Chaeyeon quickly ran to the main street and pulled over a taxi.

•~•

After Chaeyeon arrived at the hospital, she met up with Eunbi at the front entrance. Eunbi explained to her that after Chaeyeon was taken off the assignment, Cherry was acting strangely and was very depressed. She had refused to eat anything and stayed cooped in her room for days. She ended up collapsing in her room this afternoon so Eunbi took her to the hospital for a checkup. The doctor said that she just collapsed from exhaustion due to the lack of nutrition from the many days she hasn’t eaten. He hooked her up to an IV drip and said that she just needs some food in her system and she should be fine to go by tomorrow.

Eunbi had stepped out for a moment to buy Cherry some food for when she wakes up, but when she returned to the room, Cherry was nowhere to be found and neither was the temp guard. She figured Cherry got up and wandered around the hospital and the temp guard had followed her, but she found the guard knocked out in the bathroom. Eunbi panicked and looked everywhere for Cherry, but hasn’t found her yet.

“She’s alright, right?” Eunbi said nervously as she bit her lower lip.

Chaeyeon had a bad feeling though, considering the text she had received earlier.

“Unnie, we need to find her quick.” Chaeyeon said, trying to remain calm.

“I received a text from her earlier….” She paused.

“... it said HELP.”

Eunbi and Chaeyeon splitted up. Eunbi went back into the hospital to search while Chaeyeon looked around the premises. Chaeyeon was turning the corner to go to the back courtyard, until something on the ground by her feet caught her attention. She recognized the item and picked it up. It was a flip phone that looked identical to the one she gave to Cherry in case she needed to contact her. It had been smashed and no longer . Hoping that someone else in this day and age was using the same exact phone, Chaeyeon turned it over and took the battery out. Her fears were confirmed. On the back of the battery, was a heart sticker. She quickly called Eunbi to meet her outside, hoping Sakura was still in the area.

Suddenly, Chaeyeon heard tires screeching in the parking lot. She rushed over and saw a black van on the far side of the lot, pulled up with its side door opened. From behind the rows of cars, she saw a few masked figures approaching the van strangely. Chaeyeon squinted her eyes to see if she can identify the figures, and there she was. Cherry was being dragged into the van. She was desperately trying to break free of their hold on her, but she was too weak and her screams were muffled by the tape over .

Chaeyeon rushed over to the direction of the van as fast as she could, but the kidnappers spotted her approaching them. They rushed to get Cherry in the van and slammed the doors shut. The van began driving off just as Eunbi had arrived in the parking lot.

“She’s in that van!” Chaeyeon shouted to Eunbi.

Luckily, Eunbi’s car was not too far from where she was standing.

“Hurry! The car is this way!” Eunbi shouted back, pointing towards the direction of the car.

She quickly climbed into her car and the engine, just as Chaeyeon jumped into the passenger seat. They exited the parking lot and quickly chased after the van. Chaeyeon called the agency and told Agent BYJ of the situation. They were instructed to follow the van and keep her updated of where they were headed. The kidnappers caught onto the fact that they were being followed so they tried to lose them; making sharp turns, running red lights, and anything they could do to lose the girls.

“I need to put some distance between us and them if we want to know where they are taking her.” Eunbi said as she slowed down and placed a few cars between them.

“Just keep an eye on the van and let me know if they make any turns.” Eunbi added.

Please be alright.

Chaeyeon silently prayed for Cherry’s safety as she clenched her fists in her lap.

•~•

Their plan had worked. The kidnappers believed they had lost the girls and began driving to a secluded area filled with abandoned warehouses. They parked at a distance, hiding their car from plain sight and waited for the kidnappers to make their move.

The van door opened and the men began dragging Cherry out. Her movements are more sluggish and she’s not fighting back as much anymore. She must’ve been fighting her all in the van during the chase. One of the men picked her up and placed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and proceeded into the farthest warehouse away from the main road.

Eunbi quickly notified Agent BYJ of their location. She then instructed them to wait and not to engage or do anything until they figure out what the kidnappers wanted and backup shows up. As Eunbi turned to rely the message to Chaeyeon, she was already gone from her seat. Eunbi looked out the window and saw the girl cautiously approaching the direction of the warehouse. Eunbi quickly hung up the phone and chased after Chaeyeon.

Chaeyeon made it to the empty warehouse beside the one where Cherry was being held and analyzed her surroundings. There were six guys total wearing full face masks with a black hood over their head. Two guarding the entrance, and four patrolling the parameters.

This is going to be tough, but I need to figure something out before she gets hurt.

Chaeyeon thought, not worrying about anything else besides Cherry. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab onto her shoulder. She quickly grabbed the hand, twisting the attacker’s wrist and then swiftly swung the attacker’s arm around to their back as she followed and pinned them up against the wall.

After taking a closer look at the attacker, Chaeyeon realized it was Eunbi and quickly let her go.

“Sorry” Chaeyeon said.

“Geez, you moved a lot faster than usual. I had no time to counter.” Eunbi whispered as she gripped her wrist, massaging it.

“Anyways, what the heck are you thinking?” She added.

Chaeyeon had no answer and just silently looked at the ground.

“You don’t even have a plan? Were you just going to bust in there and hope for the best?” Eunbi reprimanded her.

Chaeyeon gritted her teeth in frustration as she clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. She was mad at herself. She’s so close to her, but unable to save her.

“Ahh, I just got an update from Agent BYJ.” Eunbi said.

“The kidnappers said they’ll let Cherry go unharmed if M-San agrees to cancel his business project and go back to Japan quietly. They’re trying to negotiate with them using cash right now.” Eunbi explained.

“That is not going to work.” Chaeyeon retorted.

“You really think they’re not going to hurt her?” She added.

“Well, we have no other choice. Agent BYJ instructed us not to engage until backup shows up.” Eunbi argued.

“They’re going to take forever to get here. There is no way of knowing what will happen between now and then. We need to do something now.” Chaeyeon argued back as she began making her way towards the other warehouse.

Eunbi quickly grabbed Chaeyeon’s hand back, stopping her from advancing any further. Chaeyeon turned around and demanded Eunbi to let her go, shoving her in the process. Eunbi wouldn’t give in though. She rushed back up on her feet and tried her best to hold Chaeyeon back. They got into a little scuffle, accidentally knocking into a case of empty glass bottles, causing it to smash onto the ground.

“What was that noise?” One patrolman said to the other.

“I don’t know. Let’s check it out.” The other replied.

The two patrolmen began making their way towards the direction of the noise to investigate. 2 of the 4 other patrolmen made their way around and up near the entrance to cover it, just in case the other two ran into trouble.

A couple of minutes passed and the two had not returned. The patrolmen who covered the entrance agreed to investigate, agreeing that something was suspicious when the other two had not return yet. Just before they reached the entrance of the other warehouse, the two patrolmen walked out.

“What took you guys so long?” The patrolman asked the two.

The two didn’t say anything.

“Hey! I asked you a question!” The patrolman yelled, lifting his gun and pointing it towards the two.

One of the questio