“AAAAAAAAAH! HEEEEEEELP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING????? LEAVE ME! HYUNJOONG-AH!!!!” Somin’s cry echoed in the backstage.

“Make your choice Hyunjoong-ah…I hope you choose wisely”

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Hyunjoong limbs became jelly. Others rushed to his side to prevent him from collapsing on the floor.

“This-this…can’t be happening..” Dong Sun cried “I-I just saw her a while ago, Jess! How can she..” he cried out frantically, waving his hands. Jessica tried to calm him but it was in vain. “Security! Security!” Dong Sun called out but none came. “What’s with the security?? Why isn’t anyone coming? Jihoo!”

Jihoo was frozen to the spot—he couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe. The moment Somin’s helpless cry penetrated his ears, everything around him was engulfed in pitch black darkness. Nothing mattered, none existed for him and all there was in that darkness was Somin’s cry for help. Don Sun rushed to him and shook him “Jihoo! Jihoo! This is not the time to lose your nerves…WE HAVE TO SAVE SOMIN!”

Dong Sun’s words pulled him out of his world of darkness. Somin’s cry was still ringing in his ears but he utilized that to fill himself with determination to find her, rescue her before anything happened to her.

“When was the last time you saw Somin, Jihoo?” Jessica asked

“I heard her in Hyunjoong’s dressing room after his performance” Jihoo remembered

“That’s hardly ten minutes before” Dong Sun calculated “Where is the security? It is impossible any of the security didn’t see her getting abducted”

Jihoo and Jessica nodded

“But where is the security?!” Youngsaeng cried with urgency

“I dunno..Woobin! Woobin!” Dong Sun cried

“Woobin?” Hwangbo suddenly panicked. Everyone turned to her. “Kim Woobin?”

“Yes..” Dong Sun nodded but Hwangbo didn’t say anything. Swaet beads started to form on her forehead, dried up and her pupils dilated as the realization hit her

“Wae? What’s wrong?” Youngsaeng rushed to her. Hwangbo shook her head and hurriedly took her phone out and started scanning through her gallery. “Would you just speak up?”

“What do you want me to say?!” Hwangbo shrieked out. “You were so adamant about handling this on your own! “

Youngsaeng along with everyone fell silent

“Here..” Hwangbo ed her phone into his hands. “Look! I knew I had seen him before when I bumped into him the other day. But I couldn't remember where. Now I when I heard the name I do.Woobin is chairman’s special man! Kim Woobin!”

Youngsaeng stared at the picture in horror. Hwangbo was in the picture donning a light smile but the at the centre of the picture sat DSP Chairman with Woobin sitting next to him bearing a cold expression.

“I told you to tell him! He needed to know! Everyone needed to know!” Hwangbo yelled

“Hyung….you knew about this?” Hyungjun asked timidly

“Youngsaeng-ah!!!” Hyunjoong shouted and ran and grasped Youngsaeng’s collar “Temme honestly…is noona saying the truth? You knew?”

“I-I am sorry Hyunjoong—“

But Youngsaeng couldn’t finish his sentence as he was thrown to the floor forcefully by Hyunjoong.

“Hyung! Stop! Please!” Kyu pleaded

“This is not the time to fight!” Jungmin said grabbing Hyunjoong from behind as he approached threateningly towards Youngsaeng

“So Woobin works for DSP. That explains the absence of security” Dong Sun mumbled

“How?” Jessica asked

“All our previous stuff is down in the audience handling the crowd. Woobin’s team was responsible for the backstage security” Dong Sun sighed “I guess they al fled when Woobin abducted Somin”

Hwangbo looked around. “Seungyeon!” she suddenly said

“What ?” Jungmin looked at her inquisitively as Hyunjoong calmed and freed himself from him

“Where is Seungyeon, Jungmin?” Hwangbo asked

“She’s here somewhere…why? Are you…” Jungmin sighed in disbelief “You think she’s involved, do you?”

“Think about it,Jungmin! Her sudden appearance in your life just when you started planning for comeback?”

“oh, c’mon noona—“

“This is all happening because of you!” Jihoo rushed forward and punched Hyunjoong “Since the time you came into her life, she has just suffered!”

“EVERYONE STOP!” Dong Sun cried “Somin is in danger! Are we going to sit around blaming each other or try to save her?”

Jihoo let go of Hyunjoong as Youngsaeng got up from the floor. Jungmin glared angrily at Hwangbo before turning to Dong Sun

“We first have to find her” Dong Sun said “If she…” he hurriedly took out his phone “ is carrying her phone we can track it through the phone’s GPS” He dialed Somin’s number and everyone waited patiently “its ringing..”

A mild sound of ‘Lucky Guy’ could be heard from the distance. Everyone tried to follow the sound and it brought them into Hyunjoong’s dressing where the phone vibrated on the table.

“She left it here. !” Youngsaeng punched the table.

“What’s going on guys?” Seungyeon suddenly appeared.

“Are you working with DSP?” Jungmin charged at her as soon as he saw her “ Temme! Did you know about Woobin? Are you involved in Somin’s kidnapping?”Jungmin gripped her shoulders forcefully

“Somin’s  been kidnapped?” Seungyeon shrieked

“Don’t try to act smart!”

“Jungmin! Get a grip!” Maknae and Kyu interfered and pulled him away from her

“Seungyeon! Mr Lee kidnapped Somin with Woobin’s help. There is no way you don’t know anything about this!” Hwangbo accused

“Believe me unnie! I didn’t! I saw Woobin just once and I thought he left DSP or something. I had no idea about this!” Seungyeon pleaded

“Fine we’ll believe you but only on one condition…” Youngsaeng intervened “Give us Woobin’s number”

“Woobin’s number?” Seungyeon repeated timidly

“Yea..he joined after we left. But KARA has been there. So it’s pretty likely you would!” Youngsaeng threatened.

“Ummm..” Seungyeon bit her lip and took out her phone. “I just had to call him once.  Here you go” she said and handed her phone to Youngsaeng

Youngsaeng looked at Seungyeon suspiciously and dialed the number.

‘The number you’re trying to call is currently unavailable’

Youngsaeng looked at Seungyeon with cold eyes and put the message on speaker for everyone to hear.

“C’mon he has more than one number. “ Seungyeon shrieked out desperately

“Then give us the other numbers” Jihoo yelled

“I dunno!” Seungyeon shouted “Oppa!” she turned to Jungmin “Trust me, I am not involved in this! You believe me don’t you?” Jungmin looked away.

“Somin…” Hyunjoong dumped his face in his hands “There si only one thing we can do then…” he said after a while

“What?” Kyu asked

“Cancel the showcase” Hyunjoong said, his voice completely devoid of emotion

“Hyunjoong! No! We can’t! We have worked hard for this! We just can’t let it go like this! “ Youngsaeng cried “DSP will win then! That’s what they want—“

“And we have to give them what they want…things would have been different if you had told me but you didn’t…and now we have to face the consequences” He faced his other members and said, “We have to sacrifice SS501 for Somin!”

“NO YOU CAN’T!”

Everyone turned to the source of the sound. It took him a while, but once he looked attentively Jihoo recognized the girl he met at the Emergency Staircase standing at the door of the dressing room with everyone’s eyes on her

“Oppa don’t cancel the performance…I-I think I have what you’re looking for” the girl said in trembling voice