~_____~

Lay looked agitated, but Chorong couldn’t guess from what. Like Suho, Lay treated the whole group genuinely and with patience. She couldn’t guess what he and Lay had talked about, but they were the last two persons she’d ever think would fight with each other.

“You see them as your friends, don’t you?” Lay questioned.

Chorong had fallen a few steps behind, her eyes on his back. She couldn’t read him from behind. His back was like a wall, a sudden barrier.

“Of course,” she replied optimistically. “Why not? We’re a team, we have to get along to work together.”

“Maybe you should reconsider your words,” Lay suggested. “It’s not always a good thing to get too friendly with people outside your line of work. You trust them too much, they’re going to use it to their advantage.”

There was something about his voice that made her stop in her steps. Something dark, gloomy. Not just agitation alone. Lay sounded upset. His voice was a voice of steel, laced with warning. But what was he warning her about?

“What are you talking about?” She refused to walk any further. She could sense it almost at once for some reason. That he was withdrawing himself, distancing himself.

“You trust them,” Lay turned around with the statement. His eyes landed on her and she felt him critiquing her underneath his breath.

“What are you on about?”

“Please, Chorong, don’t let your emotions sway you. I know you’re a logical person. You see more than what’s on the outside, that’s how you do your work.” Lay told. “That’s what you were taught to do.”

“You’re confusing me, Lay. What did you and Suho talk about?” Her curiosity was perked. She’d never seen Lay so disturbed before. It could only mean something was totally wrong.

“I know you like him,” the words just continued bleeding from his lips. “I know how you feel, but I don’t want you to get hurt. I just want you to be careful, Chorong.”

She stared at him, her eyes blank.

“Maybe Victoria’s right. We believe Donghae’s team too much.” Lay suggested. “When you get discharged, let me know. I’ll take you home.”

Lay spun around, took a step forward, but stopped at the sound of her voice. “And so?” There was a pause in Lay’s footsteps, but he started forward again. “I know.” She watched come to a full halt this time. “I’ve seen them…together…on duty even when we’re not supposed to be at work. You’re angry at them, aren’t you? That they may have important information we don’t know about.”

This time he spun around, his eyes sparking with clarity. She was right. He was angry.

“I don’t want to argue with you.” He inhaled deeply. “You can go back on your own, right?”

Chorong took a step forward, her lips falling apart to utter words that never quite perched on her lips. If the team wasn’t already falling apart, they were being destroyed. She worried that in no time they could be warring against each other. Then they’d end up as sitting ducks waiting for Hyukjae to come after them.

As the thoughts closed in on her, she lifted her head up after taking a step forward. Suho was just coming her way after leaving the elevator. His steps slowed, their gazes met once before concentrating his gaze straight down the hallway. He was stand-offish, she couldn’t tell why. It felt awkward and she didn’t want to be awkward with him again. It was miserable and gloomy and had been hard work to be comfortably friendly with him again after the ordeals they’d gone through together. And she didn’t want to place her life on the line as an excuse for him to care about her.

When he began to brush by she turned, “Suho.”

He stopped, turned to look at her. His eyes held worry. Every thought circled itself in his irises. His feet seemed urgent, but he remained patient. It was just like him. The Suho she knew well.

“I just wanted to say,” she hoped he could feel her honesty in her words, “no matter what happens and no matter what you do, I’m on your side.”

~_____~

Suho started toward the window right after closing the door behind him. It was still open and he felt a dire need to gaze up at the sky stretching far and wide over them. It looked free, going where it pleased, covering every stretch of the earth. Making dreamers dream of shooting out beyond the blue. The lull for a sense of freedom was strong this time.

“Seemed like serious business,” Namjoo’s voice made him turn to see her lying, still propped up. Her eyes had been closed when he came back and he’d assumed she was asleep.

Walking over, he took the chair Donghae had left behind, sat down. “Still in pain? Should I get the nurse?”

She shook her head. “What’d you and Lay talk about? He didn’t look very happy when he came back.”

Suho wanted to sigh and at the same time keep all the worries to himself. He didn’t want to inform her any more of what was going on, make her worry along with him. No more burdens on her shoulders, he pleaded. But everything seemed to be going downhill. Where should he start?

“I told him,” Suho told, “everything.”

As the silence waited out neither looked at each other, almost as if an unspoken agreement was forming between them.

“Even about Eunhyuk’s twin?”

He nodded, “That too.”

“I see.”

They were quiet, as if speculating all the possibilities lying ahead of them if Suho was to work with someone else instead of her.

“I couldn’t do this alone, so I needed him.” Suho further explained.

“I know.” Namjoo agreed. “But in Lay’s line of work, secrets between team members mean something far beyond betrayal. It’s not acceptable.”

“I’ll deal with it. He bends with rules, but I know he won’t back out on us,” Suho was confident about that. “He’ll stay until everything’s finished. So after you get discharged, I’ll take you home and get started on what we should have finished.”

“You should finish your personal business too,” Namjoo finally turned to look at him. “You still haven’t talked to Chorong.”

Suho glanced at her. It was a topic he wanted to avoid at the moment for some reason.

“Haven’t had time to think about it.”

There was a snort from Namjoo that had him frowning at her. “You have time now.”

~~~

Lunch was untouched. Tao hadn’t left his room, not even one step out of it. He was still lying in the same position when Donghae opened the door to check on him. He hadn’t spoken a word either. There was an urge to step in, sit on the bed, wait for Tao to respond, but Donghae knew better. He had to take precaution if he wanted to edge into Tao’s world again. Right now he was as fragile as glass.

He’d just cleared the table after eating the lunch as a substitute for dinner. After a good rest he felt reenergized, ready to hit the road again. His plans were to hit the road, head to the hospital, and switch roles with Suho. Right when he was washing dishes, his phone rang.

Officer Choi.

His heart skipped a beat. Picking up his phone instantly, “Lee Donghae.”

“I received an alert from Cheongju,” Officer Choi’s voice sounded short, as if he were gasping for air after a long flight of stairs. “Two foreign students studying abroad are missing, along with third year student Im Jumi. They were last sighted at Lotte Mart. There’s a bus station on the other side, that’s where they were.”

“You sure they didn’t get lost? You’ve checked all the train lines? Security cameras?” Donghae spit the questions out, his heart in his throat. Majority of the team was down. If he had to do a search he’d rather use the big group. The greater the number, the better the search.

“Checked, it’s been almost four hours. The President of the University is panicking, especially since two missing are foreigners.”

“I got that.” Donghae hastily replied.

“The Police Department is eyeing for suspicious vehicles entering and exiting the city,” Officer Choi informed. “They’re on alert for the van sighted leaving Yeongwol yesterday.”

“The van? Why the van?” Now Donghae couldn’t seem to keep his hands still. He switched the phone from one ear to the other.

“It was spotted by a trooper down the highway headed toward Chechon.” Officer Choi went on. “Chances are slim, but there’s a possibility this van is the one from Yeongwol.”

“What are the police doing?”

“Keeping their eyes on the roads like hawks,” Officer Choi explained. “Thought I’d let you know since this could be linked to your case. You better get a head start on it.”

“Got pictures of the students? Fax them immediately.”

Donghae didn’t leave without informing Tao of his departure, even left a few dollar bills on the table for him if he needed anything. He’d want to stay with Tao or have someone stay with him, but the time wasn’t of his necessity. As he fled down the flight of stairs he phoned Victoria who graciously picked up after the first ring.

“Holding up all right?” Donghae greeted.

“Doing just fine. Was about to have dinner. Want some?” She sounded quite chirpy.

“Better hurry up, we’ve got business.” There was a moment of silence.

“What’s going on?” Now she sounded concerned. He could picture her leaning forward on that very sofa she always comfortably sat on, shoulders set straight, her brows furrowed, and eyes wide.

“I’ll explain to you. I’m on my way.” After hanging up he jolted out the door and with a sprint toward his car. The moment he got in he turned the engine on and sped out.

~_____~

Back to business, Victoria almost wanted to sigh. Then on the other hand, Donghae was coming to pick her up. Now if that didn’t make her feel good, she didn’t know what did. Other than the fact that he’d opened up and ‘fessed up to her about his little secrets, they were finally on the same wavelength. He was finally putting effort into becoming one with her.         

Never minding dinner she kept her eyes trained out the window for his car and the very moment she sighted him, he called to tell her he was there. By then she was already out the door, bolting into the elevator. Donghae wasted no time when she joined him.

“Im Jumi, student at Cheongju National University missing along with two foreign students, it’s a red alert,” Donghae’s eyes trained themselves onto the road. “We need to move fast. The van with those missing girls in Yeongwol may be there.”

“The van?” Victoria repeated with surprise.

“A state trooper spotted an unidentified van heading out of Yeongwol toward Chechon. Cheongju is just a little way beyond that. Could’ve stopped there.” Donghae reasoned.

“We heading straight there?”

“Not yet,” he answered, “was trying to figure out who to group. I’m leaving Tao out of this. Maybe your group along with Suho.”

“The guys should be fine with a last minute call up,” Victoria suggested, feeling pleased that Donghae was asking for her inquiry. It definitely showed he was starting to view her on the same level. The pride growing through her was satisfying. “Chorong’s still in the hospital. She can stay with Namjoo. If anything happens, Chorong can handle a gun at least.”

“Then lets get this going. You call Lay, I’ll get Kris.”

~_____~

It was late afternoon when the nurse had come in to inform her that discharge time was 5:00. Chorong just about finished changing and stepped out of the bathroom to see Suho step in through the door. His face held business.

“Getting ready to head home?” He greeted.

She nodded. She was planning to catch a cab home, had decided against Lay’s offer to take her back. She decided they all needed some air right now and she would like to cool off and sort her thoughts as well. It was much needed.

“There’s an emergency,” Suho cut to the chase, “I’m going to need you to stay with Namjoo while we head out.”

Chorong’s attention was perked up too, “Where to?”

“Cheongju,” Suho replied. “Nothing will probably happen in the hospital, but it’s better to take precaution. You’ll stay with Namjoo, right?”

It was always Namjoo this, Namjoo that. Chorong let the thought slide through her mind. She’d let it bother her once and let it go shortly, but she wondered if camaraderie could be so strong between two people.

No one spoke about it, at least not personally. No one had been directly curious to ask.

“Suho,” Chorong called, “do you like her?”

His face remained very straight. His eyebrow twitched. “Chorong.” It was a call of demand to swerve her back on track – in the line of work, away from all the heart-to-heart wonders. She realized then, that she had so much to talk to him about from within her heart and she wanted to know what kind of things Suho was thinking about her.

Controlling herself, she said, “I’ll stay with her. Be careful out there.”

~_____~

Lay and Suho entered the car at the same time very quietly. Kris was out the door when Donghae stopped at the curb of his house then quickly sped toward headquarters for ammo and the pictures.

The group worked swiftly, moved quickly now that everyone was accustomed to the building and the pace required of them. Within twenty minutes they were out in Donghae’s car and on the road.

“Those are pictures of the missing girls. Im Jumi, Lida Arnett, and Hana Li.” Donghae explained as Victoria passed the photos to the back. “Last seen at the bus station behind Lotte Mart in North Chungcheong approximately five hours ago. The van we lost in Yeongwol was seen leaving the highway, headed toward Chechon. Cheongju is beyond the city, so there’s a possibility it made a stop there.”

“The girls could’ve been picked up, offered a ride,” Lay guessed. “Hitchhiking isn’t popular nowadays, since society has become more wary of strangers. Homicide rates have gone up, maybe it isn’t reasonable.”

“A van at the bus station? Doesn’t sound likely,” Kris shook his head. There were bags under his eyes, speaking a tale of his fitful unsuccessful nap.

“Someone could have approached them,” Suho added. “Sometimes it works. A man comes up to you, offers a high paying job, you go with him.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Victoria nodded. “Economy’s gone bad, everyone’s struggling.”

“These are college students,” Donghae emphasized.

“But even college students go through hard times to make ends meet,” Suho further indulged. “But whatever happened, doesn’t matter.”

“Who's Chief of the Department?” Lay wondered.

“Not sure. We’ll meet him when we get to campus.”

“It must be an uproar.” Kris commented.

They reached Cheongju a couple hours later. Under the heavenly blue sky on a clear day, campus looked like any paradise away from home. A long concrete lane led them through two brick pillars toward a red bricked structured building. It gave off the image of a private prep school one would find in England. Rows of windows decorated the building stretching across the plot of land before them. Lines of trees, all well grown and taken care of by the environmental department gathered around them.  

Donghae drove around a round-about popping up in the center before putting the car into park in front of a short flight of concrete stairs. They filed out and headed into the building. Portraits of previous Dean of Students grandly smiled back at them along the walls. Around a corner they stopped in front of two closed doors. It opened before Donghae could knock.

“Lee Donghae?” The balding man with graying hair greeted. The smile of a father lit his face up with hope. A strong smell of clean carpet and books hovered toward them when Donghae shook his head.

“I’m the Dean of Students here, Lee Daeha, please come in,” he sounded as gentle as his hands were.

“Lee Donghae,” Donghae nodded, “it’s nice to meet you, Sir. This is my team.”

They filed into the room introducing themselves one by one until they were all in. The door closed and Donghae glanced at the wooden cupboard nailed to the wall. Scholarship pamphlets and study abroad magazines were all sorted there. The dreams of students swirled around the room, over the desk where a middle aged woman would be sitting as aid to curious students – now it was empty. Computers sat off to the side with a hallway beyond it where counselors would offer advice and help.  

All dreams and hopes would continue to vanish if he didn’t work fast.    

***Now that HaeToria's relationship has stabilized, Lay and Suho are at ends - God, I did not deliberately planned that. It happened as I was writing -.-