:Nails for Breakfast:

Jiyong was anxious. Which naturally translated to 'angry', and Youngbae had done his best to help his leader keep calm. But every minute that crawled by only seemed to stretch the dragon's nerves even tighter. There was only so much he could do on his own though, and he sent a 'help me!' glance at their youngest.

He hoped Seungri, as the likeliest to remain unscathed, could distract his best friend long enough to help him calm down. They couldn't let Jiyong's emotions get the best of him. Not when they still had no news.

The maknae, ever-perceptive as he was, immediately understood the shorter man's look, and left his place where he'd been listening to Hyunsuk and Dongwook discuss their phone calls. He then proceeded to sidle up to Jiyong and rest his forehead on his elder's shoulder and release one of his most pathetic sighs.

Youngbae could have kissed him, and struggled to stop his jaw from crashing at his feet. He watched as his best friend immediately turned his focus away from his inner turmoil. Seungri's ingenuity, in giving the leader someone to take care of, was nothing short of absolute genius. Their volatile friend could dote on the younger Seunghyun while they waited to hear how they were going to find the older.

He walked away from the two to find out what Dongwook and the president had been told, briefly wondering where Daesung had disappeared to. Once he got to eh older men's side, he looked at the two with something of an expectant expression. The short man hoped they had good news.

A short glance was shared by his elders, dashing that hope and he struggled not to despair. What were they going to do if they were too late? They all loved TOP in their own way, and losing him permanently would be a debilitating blow to the four of them. And to more than just the band.

He shuddered to think how his best friend would fare, losing the love of his life.

It wasn't an option. So Youngbae steeled his nerves and waited to hear what his elders had to say. Daesung reappeared just then and joined the three, a tiny grin on his face at the leader and their youngest. There was a heavy feeling in the air, and they thought smiles would be hard to come by until they found their baby hyung. Se7en cleared his throat and the young men turned to him.

“We can look at the security footage,” two young faces lit up and he held his hand up to indicate he wasn't finished. Then he delivered the bad news. “But not until tomorrow afternoon,” his voice had a definite edge of frustration to it, and they all unconsciously turned to gaze at Jiyong.

The dragon's unnervingly intent stare was trained on the four of them.

There seemed to be something dangerous swimming in his eyes. Something just this side of stable and intimidating. It was chilling, but none could blame him. Besides Youngbae had a feeling the younger man would be back to normal as soon as his other half was safely home again. And that simmering anger would be controlled and contained by TOP's gentle, soothing presence.

“I never realized how much influence Seunghyun-hyung had in keeping Jiyong-hyung under control,” Daesung's soft murmur floated between them, making sure the leader couldn't hear him. Four nods were his only answer.

“Unfortunately, the police can't do much unless we file a missing person's report, which would make keeping this out of the media impossible.”

Hyunsuk's statement was not something the younger two wanted to hear.

“But they said they can look at the video and let us know who this . . . person is, and possibly help us get Seunghyun away from him.”

That was something at least. But for now, the more immediate dilemma was: how to tell Jiyong without having him throw a fit. His indignation, even with Seungri as buffer, as almost palpable. Youngbae could imagine fire shooting out of his mouth.

'At least,' he thought, 'he can take it out on the kidnapper.'

Of course, the issue of giving Jiyong the bad news was solved by Hyunsuk himself. As the company's CEO, he was the dragon's boss, and there was no way the younger would ever allow himself the luxury of blowing up at the man.

Not even for the awful knowledge that he could do nothing to help his boyfriend and band mate for at least another 24 hours.

The two older men then said their goodbyes, leaving a shell-shocked Kwon Jiyong in the capable hands of his closest friends. His Leader-shaped shield had not held up well, and the door closed on him silently sobbing into Seungri's shoulder. The other two had immediately moved to flank the pair and bolster the distraught young man.

“Will he be alright?”

Dongwook's concerned musings floated into the silence of the elevator as he and the president rode it to the ground floor. He was almost more worried about the younger rapper than he was for Seunghyun, and disturbingly surprised about how the normally fiery kid was so strongly affected by the abduction.

Hyunsuk hummed, contemplating something in the middle distance.

“He's just shocked. Nothing like this has happened around him or anyone he's particularly closed to before.”

“Maybe, but he should know Seunghyun's clever,” Se7en pointed out. “And this guy didn't sound like he's seriously thinking about hurting our dongsaeng.” He received a sharp glance from the president and he stared back unflinchingly. Hyunsuk sighed.

“You recognized him,” it wasn't a question. Dongwook returned his attention to the descending numbers. A frown twisted his features as he remembered the voice and the flash of a face; he found himself harboring an anger that was unfamiliar to him. He needed Hanbyul.

“He sounded familiar,” he admitted. “And the face we saw looked like I've seen it before. But the only way to know for sure is to get a look at that video, tomorrow.”

Another hum reached his ears, and he realized Hyunsuk also had a fairly accurate suspicion about the kidnapper's identity. Though there was nothing they could do until they had proof, and that was absolutely infuriating.

The elevator reached its destination and the two exited. They exchanged farewells and climbed into their respective company cars, their individual drivers silently taking them home. There were preparations to be made, and press meetings to be drafted. Just in case.

- - - - -

24 hours would seem to stretch much longer unless they kept occupied and optimistic. Dongwook felt he should at least pretend to be 100% confident that Seunghyun would be perfectly alright when he was returned to their side.

If not for himself, then for the remaining BigBang boys. They needed the reassurance of someone who had known them for as long as the older singer had.

These thoughts and more clouded Se7en's mind as his ride pulled up to his high-rise apartment building, and he felt a weight lift off his shoulders when he saw his girlfriend's car in the private parking garage.

He hurried on his way to their floor, barely pausing long enough to toe off his shoes as he closed the door behind himself. The strongest urge in his heart at that moment was to find Hanbyul, hug her to him, and share his burden with her.

“Wookie? Is that you, sweetheart?”

She was in the kitchen, and he immediately went there, folding her into his arms and holding on tight. Hanbyul instinctively knew something was horribly wrong but didn't question him, bless her heart. She knew he would talk to her when he was ready.

Dongwook breathed in deeply, his nose buried in her hair and the comforting scent of rose petals and her body wash enveloped him. Its familiarity loosened the tight coil of his self-control and he faltered.

“Seunghyun's been kidnapped.”

She recoiled away from him, her soft palms bracing his face as she searched his eyes for any hint of humor at a well-planned prank. When there was none, he was hauled back into her embrace. Hanbyul knew her boyfriend had a soft spot for the younger artist, and she liked him quite a bit herself.

“Are you alright?” She felt him hesitate a moment, then nod.

They were mostly alright. Besides, he and Hyunsuk were in agreement that TOP was perfectly fine, if probably somewhat traumatized. He could tell Hanbyul sensed that something besides the abduction of his favorite dongsaeng was bothering him. She only continued to hold him, her hand rising to softly card through his hair.

“We - Hyunsuk and I – are pretty sure we know who it is. But we have to get a good look at Seunghyun's security cameras before we know for sure,” the anxiety this unconfirmed knowledge caused him felt like a lead weight hanging in his rib cage.

“Who.”

Another question turned statement, but he didn't hesitate in telling her. She loosened her hold on him enough to pull back and stare into his eyes, incredulous.

“But – Seunghyun trusts him! You all do!”

“I know. I think that might be part of the reason he's keeping Tabi blindfolded,” that earned a confused look settling on her pretty face. With a sigh, Dongwook took her hands and led her to the couch, sitting and pulling her into his lap.

He explained the situation, in as much detail as he could. From the time he and the president first watched their video, to the moment the younger men burst into the office with the news. And the other video.

“If he hadn't sent that video to the boys, we wouldn't have known who it is, Han. And if they hadn't seen the one he sent to the office, we wouldn't know that there's video evidence.”

“A double-edged sword,” he could only agree.

- - - - -

The second time Seunghyun regained consciousness in his new world of darkness was distinctly different from the first. Though it wasn't any better, and he quickly came to the conclusion that it was actually worse.

He still couldn't see anything, even though the fabric that had been wrapped around his face before was conspicuously missing. And he still had no clue about how long he'd been in that place. His entire body felt unnaturally heavy, like the few times he'd been put on heavy painkillers.

Did that guy drug me?

It was the only explanation for the lethargy of his limbs and the thickness in his head. His thoughts felt slower than normal, and it took him several minutes after waking up to notice that he was in a bed. And half-.

That last realization had him jerking into a sitting position, immediately groaning as his previously slack muscles protested the sudden movement. His skin burned as the blanket slid to pool at his hips and Seunghyun shuddered. There was a tightness at his temples, and his face felt much hotter than he thought was normal.

This new place he woke up in this time was much warmer than the last, but still colder than his currently overheated body. A shiver worked its way from the center of his chest outwards, encasing his limbs in gooseflesh and the ache in his sensitized skin tore a moan of discomfort from his throat.

The sound didn't echo in here, and he wasn't assaulted by unwanted thoughts or imagined sensations. Not yet. He was too busy being aware of how every part of his body hurt. And he might have a fever, but Seunghyun had no way of knowing for sure. The discomfort prompted him to carefully lay back down and turn on his side, rearranging the bed covers he could only begin to make out around his aching form.

Curling in on himself with his arms and legs tucked to his chest, the young rapper noticed a long strip of fabric loosely wound and tied around his wrist. It partly answered the question of where the blindfold had gone, but not much else.

Leftovers from whatever had kept him knocked out were apparently still lingering in his bloodstream, and he felt an irresistible pull of drowsiness drag his eyelids shut as soon as he was horizontal. Then his awareness was gone as abruptly as he'd regained it.

- - - - -

AN

I had planned to follow Jiyong and the boys, but Dongwook decided they needed some privacy instead. Anyways! Yeah. I'm giving up on trying to predict what will happen in each chapter.

I'll see you guys next update! Until then, enjoy!