Before two in the morning, they had already arrived at the gates of the Macau Container Port. Of course, it was closed at this time of the night and there was a security guard booth outside also to get pass through.

Chanyeol made a phone call to someone, conversing rather fluently in Mandarin, which impressed Kyungsoo to know that Chanyeol spoke multiple languages.

After a while, the gates were opened and the security guard actually smiled and waved at them to let them inside.

“I have connections too here in China,” Chanyeol simply answered, undoing the first few buttons of his shirt before removing his tie.

Kyungsoo only side-eyed Chanyeol, not really surprised that he would have connections all the way here too. After all, crime seemed to be universal and present in any country in the world at this point.

Sehun parked the car at an empty dock in the port. There were no ships and port crew around as no shipments were expected at this time of the day. Although, there was an abundance of shipping containers stacked around the area and some storage buildings, obscuring them from view. The port was adequately lit but it wasn’t too bright either.

Due to the proximity to the airport, there was the occasional plane loudly flying overheard them.

Sehun opened the glove compartment in the car to retrieve a handgun and a magazine before handing it to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol flipped his coat open to reveal a chest gun holster he was wearing underneath, which actually surprised Kyungsoo as he wasn’t really looking forward to a shootout. Chanyeol loaded the gun and fixed both the gun and the magazine onto the holster before buttoning up his coat back again.

“Good luck,” Sehun said, looking behind at both Chanyeol and Kyungsoo.

“Remember the plan,” Chanyeol replied, pushing the door open and asking Kyungsoo to come along with him.

Sehun drove away shortly after, leaving Chanyeol and Kyungsoo on the dock. Kyungsoo was admittedly nervous as he remained standing behind Chanyeol, who was standing with his arms crossed and frequently looked over his shoulder to make sure Kyungsoo was still there.

There was a moderately warm wind blowing over the water and around them. The view of the bright Macau skyline was visible at a distance across the water from where they were.

Chanyeol also kept looking at the time on his gold Rolex watch before crossing his arms again as he continued staring out at the water in only a certain direction.

Kyungsoo was too afraid to say anything so he clung onto the back of Chanyeol’s coat, on the expensive fabric like a security blanket to keep himself grounded.

“Are you tired of standing? Do you want to sit down?” Chanyeol asked at one point, looking over his shoulder at Kyungsoo.

“It’s fine,” Kyungsoo responded, still clinging onto the back of Chanyeol’s coat, “Besides, there’s nowhere for me to sit on.”

Hearing that, Chanyeol began to his coat and Kyungsoo didn’t have to ask why. Of course, Chanyeol was planning to take off his coat that probably cost a few million won just for Kyungsoo to sit on.

Almost instantly, Kyungsoo protested and ran in front of Chanyeol to button it back with slight difficulty, “No! Keep it on, please. I’ve troubled you enough.”

Chanyeol chuckled, looking down at Kyungsoo who was still trying to button his coat back together with shaky hands.

Taking advantage of the proximity and position, Chanyeol pulled Kyungsoo into a hug, smashing the latter into his wide chest as he rested his palms on the small of Kyungsoo’s back a mere few inches from touching his .

Chanyeol continued laughing while Kyungsoo was still surprised and maybe a bit flustered from how touchy Chanyeol always seemed to be around him.

Kyungsoo was a bit thankful for that though, as it helped him forget all the troubles crushing him even if for a brief moment.

Kyungsoo even found himself smiling a bit, letting his head rest against Chanyeol’s shoulder. That was until Chanyeol whispered close to his ear to inform him that someone was already coming from them.

Quickly, Kyungsoo peeled himself off of Chanyeol. They stood beside each other as they looked out towards the water where a speedboat was fast approaching them.

“Is that them?” Kyungsoo asked, “Isn’t a bit too early?”

“You can always count on Baekhyun to be early,” Chanyeol noted, standing with his hands in the pockets of his trousers as the wind continued to blow into their faces.

Several minutes later filled with anticipation, the speedboat pulled up at the dock and a man in a black suit and sunglasses emerged from it, walking onto the dock and towards Chanyeol and Kyungsoo. Another man, the boat driver, remained on the boat.

“The boss only ordered for Do Kyungsoo alone,” The man affirmed, sternly, “Only he will be coming with us.”

“I know that,” Chanyeol confidently replied, one hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder like an act of possessiveness, “-but tell your boss Park Chanyeol is here too and will be coming along. Consider it as a two-for-one package. He won’t say no.”

“Very well,” The man then pulled out a phone from the inner pocket of his coat before he made a phone call to who was presumably and very likely Baekhyun.

While the man was on the call with Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo remained where they were and watched on.

The man promptly got off the phone and announced what Chanyeol already expected to happen, “The boss says he’s more than happy to have the both of you. You two will come with us but you must be unarmed and no one else should be coming with you.”

“Of course,” Chanyeol smiled, lifting his hands up in the air as he allowed the man to conduct a general body check on him.

Kyungsoo saw as the man found Chanyeol’s gun and spare magazine, taking the weapon away from Chanyeol. Kyungsoo was actually worried as to how they were going to defend themselves now that the gun had been taken away and they were literally walking into the lion’s den.

Kyungsoo had no idea how they’d ever be able to resolve this but it seemed like Chanyeol had a plan and Kyungsoo was merely just following along, not like he really had any other choice.

After Chanyeol, the man also conducted a body search on Kyungsoo, only to find the paper scribbled with the directions to the airport in Kyungsoo’s pocket.

Then, they were both escorted to the speedboat and a bag was put over their heads, which completely blocked out all light although still being breathable.

Chanyeol held Kyungsoo’s hand the entire time and if it weren’t for that, Kyungsoo would have panicked enough to jump over the boat and into the cold waters despite not knowing how to swim, because he was just desperate to escape the situation.

Deep inside, Kyungsoo wondered if Chanyeol did this on a regular basis to be so calm and collected.

Kyungsoo was actually counting under the bag over his head throughout the whole boat journey. The engine of the speedboat was loud, the ride was sometimes shaky due to the waves and sometimes he could feel the spray of cold seawater on his skin.

Whether Kyungsoo’s calculations were accurate or otherwise, he counted 705 seconds from when the boat’s engine was started before the trip and when it was turned off near what was the destination they have arrived at.

The two of Baekhyun’s men that had come for them individually led both Chanyeol and Kyungsoo off of the boat and onto another flat ground surface.

Kyungsoo was separated from Chanyeol and he could feel his hands being tied behind him with something that felt like rope or a plastic zip tie. Kyungsoo had no idea where they were but since the journey didn’t take too long; they weren’t too far from the container port.

“It’ll be alright,” Chanyeol’s muffled voice was heard from behind the bag over his head as he was being led away.

Kyungsoo could only bite his lip and tremble slightly as he was taken away by the other man, made to walk down a distance and some steps until he was forced to sit onto what seemed like a chair with his hands still bound behind him.

Only then, the bag over his head was pulled off, or rather yanked off rather callously. Kyungsoo immediately squint his eyes and lowered his head down, because the sudden adjust to brightness hurt his eyeballs.

“Humph, so I finally get to see you in person,” A smooth voice was heard saying in a displeased manner.

Kyungsoo lifted his head slightly and peeked an eye open to see who he was sure to Baekhyun. Kyungsoo was sure of how Baekhyun looked like after all the stalking and pictures he took of the latter, despite never meeting face to face like this before.

Baekhyun had thick, medium-length wavy brown hair and he was wearing a shirt with the first row buttons undone, exposing the gold necklace he was wearing underneath. Baekhyun had his arms folded over his chest with a gun in one hand, Kyungsoo could see.

Kyungsoo sat up straight, looking upward at Baekhyun with a rather confused expression on his face because he didn’t know what to say or do.

They appeared to be in a large warehouse-like place with crates and storage containers surrounding them. The lighting was harsh and bright overheard.

There were at least three men standing around Baekhyun. Kyungsoo recognized one of them to be the same person who had come to collect him and Chanyeol, and judging from their body language, they were most likely Baekhyun’s guards.

Kyungsoo didn’t see Chanyeol anywhere in sight and he could only hope that Chanyeol was alright, although he had somewhat of faith in Chanyeol’s capability as he was seemingly experienced in this type of situation.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Baekhyun questioned, slightly taken aback at Kyungsoo’s reaction towards him, “You look like you’re in the middle of a math test or something.”

“Huh-what?” Kyungsoo himself was at a loss for words, stuck in a haze of confusion for a moment.

“Never mind,” Baekhyun scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Kyungsoo then immediately remembered why he was there in the first place and it sent his heartbeat racing, “Where are my friends and his family! I came here just as you asked me to. Please let them go now!”

“Oh, about that,” Baekhyun looked at his nails on one hand, as if he was feigning ignorance.

“Where are they!? You said you won’t hurt them!” Kyungsoo demanded, almost lurching out of the chair if it weren’t for two men who ha