“Himchan hyung, what happened?!” Jongup asked Himchan was brought down by Jiho and handcuffed back to the pipe. “Where’s Airi-sshi?”

While the rest were glad that Himchan was safe, they were worried that the person he left with didn’t come back with him. “Himchan-sshi, where’s Airi?” Jiyeong asked slowly, already knowing the answer to her question, but wishing it was not true.

“S-She’s dead.” Himchan bawled. His tired eyes became blurred by the over-flowing tears that fell, letting out loud wails in the process. “They injected her with something and she,” not wanting to replay the incident in his mind, he remained silent.

“Y-You’re kidding,” Jiyeong said with a tone full of denial. The person she wanted to protect the most was dead and she couldn’t do anything about it. She couldn’t protect Airi; she let her die. “You piece of !” She screamed, glaring at the closed door. “I’ll ing kill you!”

“I guess Airi-sshi was really close to Jiyeong-sshi.” Jiho commented as he heard Jiyeong’s threats and yells. “It is strange how one can get so close to another when they’re in a frightening situation.”

“I’ve told you many times, brother. The human kind is very interesting and unpredictable.” Jaehwan said as he sat in his desk and began documenting the procedure. “If only we had used a different chemical.” He sighed as he stared at the half empty vial of ethylene glycol that was sitting on his desk. “Maybe she wouldn’t have suffered so much.”

Airi’s death lasted over three days. Although ethylene glycol has a moderate toxicity level, if a person where to ingest a large amount, they result in a slow death. Over the course of 72 hours, or three days, the victim’s organ systems begin to fail until the ultimate result: death.

It was painstakingly horrible for Himchan as well. Being strapped to a hospital bed, having to watch as Jaehwan and Jiho inject Airi with the deadly chemical, having to watch Airi’s body spazz as the chemical runs through her veins, and ultimately watching Airi’s death. This was something Himchan could never forget. He will never forget the fear in Airi’s eyes as her head shifted to face him, bloodshot red and wide from the horrible pain that went through her body.

“It’s such a waste that we weren’t able to take Himchan out of his misery as well.” Jaehwan sighed, lightly swirling the vial in his hand. “It wouldn’t be fair to make him suffer over three days as well, but I’m sure we wouldn’t have enough energy to do so.”

“What are you planning to do now, hyung? Shall I call someone else up?” Jiho inquired, adjusting his green gloves that loosely wrapped around his hands and wrists.

“No, we’ll let them rest.” Jaehwan said, throwing the vial towards the wall, breaking it into thousands of little shards. “It’s too early for the next one.” He sighed before walking out of the room, leaving Jiho confused.

‘If hyung doesn’t hurry, someone might actually worry about them.’ Jiho thought to himself as he stared at the door Jaehwan walked through. Shifting his gaze to the hospital bed that Airi’s body was on, he suddenly felt a huge wave of guilt. This was definitely not his first time murdering someone, but for some reason, he felt regretful.

“You’re just tired, Jiho.” He told himself. “You just need to get some sleep. You’ll be fine when you wake up.” He stared at the clock that was tacked onto the white tile walls. It was 6:47, but he didn’t know if it was in the morning or the evening. There were no windows in the room. Nothing to show what time of the day it is.

“You just need to rest.”

“Where is she?” Manager Kim whispered to herself as she tapped her right index finger on her lips. She was standing in front of the arrival section of the Gimpo Airport, pacing back and forth as the passengers of the airplane walked passed her.

The trip to Jeju only took about two weeks and today was the day they were schedules to return. Manager Kim, Woosung, and a disguised Amber and Min were waiting to pick up the others, but were worried when the area emptied out and all that was left were the four.

“Unnie, who are you here to pick up?” Amber asked Min in order to pick up the heavy atmosphere. Amber had a feeling something bad happened, but she didn’t want others to feel the same way. “I’m here to pick up my unnie.”

“Ah, I’m here to pick up my friend, as well.” Min replied, tapping her fingers on her thigh. “That’s weird; no one else is coming out.”

“Should we ask the information desk?” Amber asked, eyeing the others that were around, obviously waiting to pick someone up.

“Yeah, I think that’s the best thing to do.” Min said before the two walked up to the information desk.

“Oh my, aren’t you two Miss A’s Min and f(x)’s Amber?” The young employee asked as she slightly covered with a balled fist. “Can I have an autograph?”

“Ah, sure.” Amber answered, signing the paper with the pen the employee handed them. “The flight from Jeju that just landed, has everyone gotten off the plane?”

“Flight 0586? Yes, everyone is off the plane and it is now undergoing inspection, so even if someone was sleeping in there, they would have been notified that the plane has landed.”

“Are you sure?” Min asked with a worried tone. “Our friends were supposed to come back today, but there’s not here.”

“Oh, um, I could check to see if their names were scheduled to be on the flight.”

By this time, Woosung and Manager Kim both walked up to the information table to ask about Minjung and Airi.

“Are you two picking someone up as well?” The employee asked as the two nodded. “Um, then may I have one of their names.

“Jiyeong.” Min quickly answered. “Jang Jiyeong.”

“Jang Jiyeong was not scheduled to be on this flight.” The employee responded after she clicked on her keyboard.

“Choi Sooyeon, try Choi Sooyeon.” Amber said with a hint of fear in her voice.

“Choi Sooyeon-sshi isn’t here either.”

“Park Airi!”

“Kwon Minjung!”

“Park Airi-sshi and Kwon Minjung-sshi were not scheduled to be on this flight. Are you sure you all got the right flight?”

“We’re sure! Check again!” Manager Kim commanded as she began pacing back and forth, her heels clicking loudly in the quiet area. “Her ticket said she’d come back today at this time.”

“Wait, Park Airi?” Woosung spoke, trying to recollect his memories. “Do you mean the famous model, Park Airi?”

“I don’t care if you’re a fan, I don’t have time to deal with you.”

“Airi-sshi and my sister were on the same flight and in the same hotel. I don’t care that’s she a famous model, I just care that she and my sister was at the same place during the same time.” Woosung said as he gave Manager Kim a harsh look.

The three turned to face Woosung and immediately went up to him, “does your sister know about my friend?” Amber asked as she walked up to him.

“We can’t talk here.” Manager Kim said. “We can’t talk in public like this. Follow me.”

Manager Kim led the three into the parking area of the garage and into her car. Woosung sat in the front seat, Amber and Min in the back, and Manager Kim in the driver’s. “Tell us everything.”

“I don’t remember anything about Jiyeong or Sooyeon, but Minjung only told me about Airi. She said that Airi ignored her while they were waiting for their flight and that she was annoyed to find out that she was in the some hotel as her.”

“Was the hotel, by chance, named Hotel Lively?” Min asked as Amber, Woosung, and Manager Kim started at Min with a shocked expression. “That’s the hotel that gave Jiyeong her flight ticket and hotel reservation.”

“Wait, they gave it to her?” Amber asked. “That happened to Sooyeon unnie, too. We found it in her mail and- Oh my god. I- We- We made her take the trip.” Amber said as she held her head in her hands. “.”

“That happened to Airi, too. So I’m assuming that was the same thing for Minjung-sshi.”

“Wait, Minjung told me something the last time I talked to her. She met a guy name Jung Daehyun. I think he has something to do with this. She told me that he was in a group of guys and maybe they’re involved in this.”

“Airi will not be caught dead with a boy! She’s not the type!”

“And my sister is?” Woosung exclaimed. “Look, I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I know for a fact that my sister, your client, and your friends are in trouble. Anything is possible right now.”

= = =

Miyoung’s Corner:
So, uh, long time no see?? WOW I AM SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN SUCH A LONG, LONG TIME. ;; I have no excuses, but hopefully this will help me get back into the story because after writing this chapter I HAVE IDEEEAAS!! Sorry this couldn’t be long like my other chapters…. I sprained my wrist a few days ago and it’s kind of hard to type, so I’ve kind of already reached my limit. Aha.. Anyways, I shall be back soon with another chapter!!
((ps. So like I was really, really, was deciding whether or not to kill off Airi, but when I checked again, the person who applied with her character WASN’T EVEN SUBCRIBED. ohmygod I don’t even know when she unsubscribed but REALLY??? So yeah that kind of gave me that push to kill her off. Sorry if it’s not enough of a death for you all AHA. ((y’all are crazy)) Anyways, bbyong!~ ♡