L frowned at the district on the screen. "What the hell is she doing at Hongdae now?" he muttered, frowning.

He tried to remember if Jaekyung had told him about a need to visit Hongdae before, and he didn't recall anything of the likes. He squinted at the apartment block she was supposed to be at, a row of cheap blocks of apartments.

"Why would she go there?" Sungyeol asked out loud. "Unless..."

There was an unspoken question hanging in the air. Chaekyung let out another sob and she collasped against the couch. "It's all my fault, if I hadn't ignored unnie in the morning, unnie wouldn't go for a walk and-"

L shot up from his seat and strode to the door. "We have to find her." he muttered urgently. "We're losing precious time. It's been hours. We have no idea what hap...happened to her." he swallowed. "Boys?" he looked back at them.

"We're coming." Dongwoo nodded. The Infinite boys followed L to his car, half of them loaded into L's and the other half into Hoya's. Sungjong shook his head at Chaekyung and wagged his finger. "You stay home in case Jaekyung comes home all of a sudden. Let's just hope her phone was just picked up with some stranger."

Chaekyung gave a small nod. "Keep in touch."

L's hands fiddled at his keys, unable to slot the thing in to start the engine. Woohyun gripped L's shoulder. "Dude you've got to relax. I know it's not easy, but if you want to save your girlfriend from whatever it is, you've got to stay cool. You can't lose it yet."

L gave a nod and he took a deep breath. He slotted in the key and started the engine, stepping hard on the accelerator.

He was scared.

Scared beyond belief.

He didn't like where this was going at all. The L inside him was shivering, utterly afraid. He had to make sure she was safe, he just had to.

The Infinite boys stared at the large apartment block where Jaekyung was supposedly in.

Hoya unconsciously cussed when he saw the building. "How the hell are we to know which apartment unit she's in?" he wondered.

"We don't." L muttered, striding right in. Sunggyu directed the boys and split them into three groups. He made them go to different levels to knock on all the doors. The Infinite boys scrambled to different levels, knocking on doors and peeking in windows. "Jaekyung? Jaekyung are you in there?"

L had already gone through three houses when Sungyeol caught up with him. The two best friends worked on opposite apartments down the corridor, knocking on doors and ringing the doorbells.

"Excuse me ahjumma, is Jaekyung in there?"

"Ahjusshi, do you know a girl called Jaekyung?"

"Halmeoni, you know this girl? She's my girlfriend. Have you seen her?"

The boys worked through the first level and not one of the people staying there knew about Jaekyung. There were some apartments that had no one inside, and L made it a point to stuck his ear by the door for some time to listen for any noise.

The two boys met at the end of the corridor and shook their heads. Wordlessly, they climbed the stairs to the fourth level, knowing the other boys had covered second and third floors.

Every time L knocked on a door, his heart was thumping with hope. Would she be in there? Maybe she was visiting a friend and she forgot to turn on her phone. Maybe she saw a granny that needed a help and she followed the granny back?

But every time the door opened, it wasn't the person he wanted to see.

L was desperate. He needed to see her right now, to make sure she was alright. He needed that assurance, he yearned for it, he would beg for it.

She wasn't there.

L and Sungyeol reached the top floor, and they knocked on the doors together. An old man came to the door. "Ahjusshi, have you seen this girl?" L held out his phone and showed his wall paper of him and Jaekyung.

The old man frowned. "No. I'm sorry." Sungyeol muttered a thanks and the old man slowly closed the door. Before the door clicked shut, the old man opened it again.

"Wait." he frowned, thinking. "I think she looks familiar."

L turned around immediately. "Yeah?" his eyes were shining.

"The boy that lives next door, he showed me a photo of this girl before." the old man frowned. "Said something about getting revenge. I thought he was joking, but then again I don't know him too well. He never once talked to be before, rude boy. But he seemed to excited yesterday..."

"Who is he?" Sungyeol asked urgently, his brows furrowed.

"His name is Kim Junki I think."

L and Sungyeol looked at each other. "!" Both of them rushed to the apartment where the old man had pointed to and banged on the door roughly, L shoving himself against the door and hoping to break it down. "YAH KIM JUNKI! OPEN UP!" L hollered.

The Infinite boys heard the commotion from the other floors and some of them rushed up. "Have you found her?"

The door opened and L nearly fainted.

Kim Junki sauntered up with a smirk, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his lower half of the body. He leaned against the door frame and raised his brows. "Wow a crowd." he snickered. "What are you doing here, L?"

L growled and pushed Junki against the wall, panting hard. "What. Did. You. Do. To. Her." he gritted out, his blood boiling and his face rapidly turning red.

Junki didn't look frightened at all. He looked like someone who had gotten what he wanted ad everything else didn't matter. "She's just here, why don't you look for yourself?"

L's eyes widened, the acknowledgement that indeed, Jaekyung was in this apartment, the fact that Junki was wearing something like that...it scared him. L shoved Junki to the ground he rushed into the bedroom while the Infinite boys crowded around Junki, sending threats and glares that the latter wasn't afraid of.

L skidded into the room, his eyes darting around the place.

The bed was in a total mess, the blankets missing from the mattress and the pillows on the floor. There seemed to have been an awful struggle in the place and L's eyes narrowed on the little drop of blood stains on the white bedspread.

L froze, his blood running bold.

No. No. NO!

L looked around urgently, not seeing anyone in the room. "Jaekyung? Jae, I'm here. It's Myungsoo." L frowned, even opening the cupboard. "Jae!"

He heard faint sniffling from the bathroom and he rushed over, his heart thudding madly in his chest.

The following sight killed him.

He saw Jaekyung on the floor beside the bathtub, covered in the missing blanket from the bed he saw just now. Her hair was in a mess and she just stayed limply, as if all will of living had escaped her.

What scared him the most was her eyes.

They were scared, desperate, but at the same time unfocused and not seeing. It wasn't the Jaekyung he knew.

"No." L let out a sob as he reached out for her. "Jae."

Jaekyung finally realized someone was with her and she immediately squeezed her eyes shut, cowering back. "NO!" she screamed hysterically. "GO AWAY! GO AWAY!" her voice was raw, as if she had already maxed out her voice. She kept hitting L, pushing him away, but it didn't hurt. She was so weak.

"Jaekyung." L grabbed her hands tenderly, his bottom lip trembling. "Jae, it's me. Myungsoo. I love you, Jae please look at me. I won't hurt you, please look at me." he cooed.

Jaekyung slowly turned to him, looking scared and confused. "Myungsoo?" she whispered.

"Yes it's me." L pulled her to him. "Jae. Jaekyung." He crushed her to him, his eyes squeezing shut as a tear leaked. Jaekyung didn't hug him back, she just laid limply in his arms.

"Myungsoo." she whispered. "I screamed for you to come, but you didn't. I thought someone, you, anyone, someone would save me. I thought no evil triumphs over good." she started crying again. "Myungsoo...I was so scared."

"Jae." L's voice broke and he buried his face in her hair. "Jaekyung I'm so sorry for being late. I'm so so sorry." he whispered, crying. "I'm sorry."

Jaekyung stayed in his arms, her eyes still unfocused. She hadn't exactly returned to reality yet, her mind playing the horrifying moments from just before.

The door flung opened and Sunggyu and the other boys came into sight. "L did you find-" Sunggyu faltered, his eyes wide as he took in the sight. L looked at his hyung, the first time they saw him cry so openly, his eyes filled with grief.

"No." Sungjong let out a whisper, turning away.

L closed his eyes, letting out a sob as he held her.

He wasn't able to protect her. He failed.

And now the one person he loved more than life itself, she got hurt.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." he couldn't help repeating. And he had no idea what else to say.