"It's been... 1hour now. I wonder if he's gone by now..."

Before Hwasa could answer her own question, she felt her mobile phone in her grasp vibrate vigorously which made her instanteously jerk on the spot by surprise. She took a quick peep at the caller ID and was utterly relieved to see another caller ID other than the unknown number that has been spamming her with miscalls. 

"Yoboseyo? Wheein-ah?" Hwasa awkwardly picked up the call and felt terribly guilty for leaving the poor girl alone for so long.

"YAH!!! WHERE THE HELL HAS YOUR BEEN?! The concert has finished, I helped myself with a second round of buffet options and you're still not back! HMPH! I've been worried sick!" the angry girl complained over the phone.

"Um.. I'm so so sorry, Wheein-ah! I was caught up with some urgent matters from home... but don't worry it's been settled haha..." Hwasa tried her best to cover up her lies to explain her disappearance but made sure to reassure Wheein that the 'problem' has been resolved in case she worried.

"Oh my! I hope everything's good! At least it's settled now! Then where are you? Can I go find you, please? I'm lonely~" Wheein said with slight aegyo at the end.

"Hahaha silly, I'm in the toilet. I think it'll be better if I join you instead. You're still at the food section right? I'm on my way over now!" Hwasa replied. 

"Okay, BALI BALI slowpoke! Anneyong~" Wheein teased and hung up the phone.

Hwasa tugged her mobile phone back into her pocket and let out a deep sigh. 

"I guess it's safer to be where the crowd is. I bet he won't dare to play any dirty tricks when everyone is present."

Hwasa inhaled deeply, placed her right hand onto the metal padlock, slid it to the side to unlock it. She finally garnered enough courage to open the cubicle door after what seemed like enternity of being held in her own prison cell.  

"Positive thoughts! You're going to be fine! Don't panic, everything's going to be okay," she recited mentally to comfort and reassure herself.

She took a left upon exiting the toilet and tried her best to blend back into the crowd to seem less suspicious. The party attendees were all engrossed in their own conversations and fun to notice her sudden reappearance. Her anxiety faded when she realised the crowd has simmered down and some guests had already left. That seemed to bring some form of comfort, at the very least. But she's not entirely safe yet. 

There was still some distance left that she had to walk before she could reunite with Wheein. She passed by karaoke stations and witnessed different  guests having tons of fun, some even shouting at the top of their lungs. It meant that the cinema and casino were not too far away as well. Some of the hotel staff even came forward and encouraged her to join in the fun but she could only refuse.

She soon realized the irony of the situation she was in. It was the most grand party of the year, possibly even EVER! She was fortunate enough to be invited to visit one of the most prestigious hotels in the world with the finest entertainment facilities and delicacies but instead of enjoying herself, she's trapped in her own paranoia and fear.

"Maybe I should just chill. What can he do? Kidnap me?? In front of everyone? Just go with the flow and maybe along the way, have some fun! Stop being so paranoid Ah Hyejin!" She reflected on her own paranoia and decided to pretend like everything was fine. 

Usually, she would be great at masking her fears well but tonight, she just felt so vulnerable and not herself. She just could not wait to see the bubbly Wheepup and started to quicken her pace. She'll knew she'd definitely lighten up the mood and make her less anxious.

"What the hell is taking her so long?! Urgh. Have your own bonding session any other time! Not when I'm trying to catch the thumb drive thief!!! This is my only shot!" Solar thought to herself as she grew more furious by the passing minute in the absence of Moonbyuli.

"I can't believe she just ditched me like that?! Like as if I didn't save her life the other day?! Urgh. What an ungrateful girl. HMPH!" she continued to rant but she knew she was just saying these in the heat of the moment as rage engulfed her.

"You know what?! Who needs her anyway?! PFTT! I will just do this myself. HMPH!" Solar grew impatient. 

"Like appa always said: always rely on yourself as others will just disappoint you," she recited Dr Kim's quote whenever he mentioned about his struggles working with challenging business partners.

Solar decided not to wait for the latter and started exploring the area she had last seen Krystal when she was tailing her from behind. She was greeted with an busy hallway that led to the entertainment facilities ahead. She stopped in her tracks and started examining the interior design of the hallway. She knew too well not to get fooled by her eye and traced her fingers along the walls and ridges to bring special attention to anything that felt strange or out of place to her. 

It was already late into the night around 10P.M. Even though some guests have already made their leave, most stayed back to enjoy the entertainment facilities and extended their informal individual business networking sessions over some cocktails and snacks. Of course, the obviously tricky part was to do her open investigations subtly and naturally to avoid raising other guest's attentions and suspicions. 

Upon close examination of the hallway's interior, she was surprised that it did not have any hidden features. She bit her lower lip in frustration as she had no leads to where the secret hideout could be. 

"If I were a hidden room, where would I be? Not in the hallway with way too many people standing by... Then where else? Where else that will not raise suspicions when people enter it..." She wondered on and on. 

Just when she was deep in thought, she felt someone's arms wrap around her back and placed palm on her shoulder. She rolled her eyes immediately without even turning to look at the person. 

"YAH! Moobyuli! How long does it take for you to walk your fat here-" she reprimanded halfway as she turned to glare at the person, but only realising its someone she did not expect. 

"Annyeong, beautiful~ Oh, that's unfortunate to hear about that little girlfriend of yours," Jimin said sarcastically, for he never really bought the whole couple act of theirs. 

"EW! Let go of me this instant, you ! URGH! What do you want now?!" Solar cringed and immediately shook his hand off of her shoulder and nudged him aside to create some distance between them. 

"Chill out, mamacita! You're always been way too uptight for a girlie your age. Look... you just seemed like you were lost and being a nice lad, I just wanted to bring you around. Besides, only the boys and I have actually been here before so I'm the best guide you can find," Jimin remarked smartly as he was trying to earn more time with the pretty noona he aways fancied. 

"Well.. as much as I despise being with him, he does come in handy! I really need someone who is familiar with the place to bring me around so that I can continue my investigation without looking too suspicious for wandering about so frequently."

"Besides,  Moonbyuli is having the time of her life with some other girl, I think it's only fair if I hung out with him for a bit too," she thought, still salty about how Moonbyuli left her earlier and has not returned.

"Well... fine. Bring me around, I want to see every coolest corner and detail in this place. But if you ever dare put your damn hands on me again, I'm calling the authorities. Got it?!" Solar explained her terms and conditions clearly as Jimin smirked and nodded.

"Anything you say, ma lady~ Follow me! I'll bring you to the entertainment area first, it's just around the corner. You're gonna absolutely love it!" Jimin exclaimed enthusiastically, obviously way more excited than Solar who has other intentions in mind. 

"Sigh.. this is going to be a loooong night, indeed," Solar told herself as she nonchalantly checked her phone's screen again but failed to receive a response from a particular blonde girl yet. 

Hwasa almost got lost in the maze of the large entertainment section. It seemed to go on forever with several similar layouts that confused her. She started panicking again. 

"Wait, didn't I just pass by the same damn karaoke machine? Where is the exit to this place?" Hwasa thought to herself as her head started to spin. 

She was not in her best state and her poor navigation was definitely not helping. 

"Ma'am, are you okay? Would you like some refreshments?" a staff member approached her and kindly offered her some beverages.

"No, thank you. I'm... fine. Could you direct me to me back to the buffet line? I'm kind of lost," Hwasa admitted shyly.

"Oh, no problem ma'am. The buffet and delacacies are right beyond that exit beside the pillar over there. Take a right, walk down a long hallway and take another right. It should be right there," the staff guided her carefully.

"Oh, thank you so much," Hwasa gave him a little tip before heading to the exit. 

Just then, she noticed Solar from a distance who just entered the premise with Jimin. She was so glad to see a familiar face in the midst of an unfamiliar crowd, even though she was equally astonished by seeing her with Jimin and without Moonbyuli in sight.

"Unnie! Unnie! Over here!" Hwasa called out in relief as Solar's eyes widened upon recognising Hwasa from the crowd.

"Hwasa? Sweetie, where have you been? Are you alright? We've been trying to get a hold of you all night!" Solar exclaimed as she approached the girl.

"I'm fine, just not feeling very well. I had to deal with some personal matters just now but everything's been settled. I'm actually on the way over to meet Wheein now," Hwasa replied as Solar noticed something off about her but knew it was not a good time to ask her about it. 

"Oh... no wonder! Krystal has been looking for you just now too but you were nowhere to be found. I just told her that you probably left early or something," Jimin replied nonchalantly as Hwasa shot her eyes wide upon hearing this news. 

"Wait... THE Krystal Jung was looking for... me?! Why?" Hwasa pondered and heart started to race as they did not know each other prior to the event. 

"God knows why? I don't know, maybe some regular girl talk. Why not you ask her yourself? I think she might still be busy entertaining some VIPs if I'm not wrong," Jimin responded as both Solar and Hwasa jerked in response for different reasons.

"Wait, does that mean you know where she's meeting her VIPs now? Can you bring me there?!" Solar asked firmly, as if her life depended on it. 

"Um... I think so? She told me she'd be in the casino VIP room, I can bring you there if you like?" Jimin replied, finding Solar's request to be really odd  but brushed it off immediately and thought maybe she was just a big fan of hers and wanted to get to know her more.

"Oh, then you two have fun ya? Wheein must be worried sick by now, I better go find her first. See you later!" Hwasa quickly bid the pair farewell before she hastily departed. 

Something about what Jimin mentioned about Krystal just did not sit well with her. She knew it was best to meet Wheein first and leave the premise as soon as possible, even if it were to abandon the unnies who were clearly more interested to stay on longer on their own. 

"Oh crap, of all times, why would my phone choose to go flat right now? NOW?! Solar must be super mad at me right now," Moonbyuli thought to herself as she starred at the black screen on her mobile phone. 

"Hey, do you happen to have an iphone charger I could use? My phone battery's dead," Moonbyuli requested from the staff nearby.

"Sure thing, ma'am. The charging ports are located at the East wing, you're currrently at the opposite wing unfortunately. Would you like me to provide you with some directions to head over?" the helpful staff advised as Moonbyuli sighed deeply. 

"Crap! Just figuring how to get there will take too long, I have to let Solar know I'm fine and on my way ASAP or knowing that woman's temper, she's going to skin me alive after this!" Moonbyuli thought to herself and instantly came up with a brilliant but risky idea. 

"It's okay, could you point me in the direction to the nearest ladies' room, please?" Moonbyuli asked with a naughty smirk on her face.

"Who needs a charging port when you're a walking energy source?! I'll charge this baby up in a jiffy on my own," Moonbyuli thought proudly to herself as she swiftly proceeded in the direction that the staff pointed out to her to discreetly 'charge' her mobile phone on her own.

Hwasa made a final turn and was greeted with the same long hallway Solar was previously at. 

"Yah! For every minute after this text that you're late, you owe me another icecream sundae! You hear me?!" Wheein sent a cheeky text to Hwasa.

"I'm almost there, no sundaes will be owed hehe!" Hwasa teased over text.

"So.. that's where you've been! I've been looking all over for you," a sweet voice called out as Hwasa stopped in her tracks. 

She wanted to pretend not to hear anything but the lady was way too fast and caught up with her in no time. 

"Hwasa-ssi, right? It's nice to finally meet you! I've heard a lot about you," the lady said, this time giving a gentle tap on her back. 

Hwasa knew she had to turn around and ackowlegde her now. Besides, it's only the polite thing to do as she is the host of tonight's grand party.