We had five minutes. After that, it would all be over. Either we’d be rapidly pursuing our captors or the millions of scattered pieces of our bodies would be generously painting the four walls surrounding us.

We had five minutes.

“Okay,” Seulgi started. “Your hands and wrists are much smaller than mine…”

“Seulgi,” I calmly interjected.

“…so you have a better chance of wiggling free.”

“Seulgi.” I took a deep breath to calm myself.

“Once you’re free, untie my hands. Four hands are better than two, that’s what I always say,” she joked nervously.

“Seulgi, if you don’t shut up so help me God,” I threatened, glaring at the red numbers mocking us from across the room.

We had four minutes. Time was a luxury we could not afford.

Seulgi’s incessant chattering continued. “Alright, I’ll squeeze my hands together so you’ll have more room to—“

“Seulgi! Stop it! Just stop it! I need 12 seconds, 12 measly seconds for my brain to comprehend the situation.” While that statement was mostly false, it did achieve its goal and Seulgi mumbled a quick, “Sorry, Joohyun,” before refraining from further comments. “Let’s analyze this situation, shall we?” I calmly proceeded.

“Okay.” She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. “We’re tied up and a bomb is going off in a couple minutes and we need to stop it.”

We had three minutes.

“Good job, Sherlock,” I praised. “But you missed one vital detail.”

“What’s that?”

“Our hands are tied but our feet are not.”

“Right! And that means…” Seulgi trailed off as the clock continued to mock us.

I sighed, almost embarrassed at her lack of understanding. “Let me help you. It means—“

“No, no, no! I want to figure it out!” she whined.

“Seulgi, we don’t have time for this!”

“Hush! You’re breaking my concentration!”

We had two minutes.

“The bomb isn’t waiting for your brain!” Sweat started pouring down my brow.

“It’s fine,” she continued. “I just need a few extra minutes. Mom always said—“

“We don’t have a few minutes! Do I need to explain to you how