Myungsoo stood on the third floor veranda, his hands resting on the railing as he watched the street below. Sungjong and Sungyeol were in the showers, convinced—rather, in denial—that their friends would all come back safe.

Hyemin came running out first, and sat down on the street. A few people slowed down to take a closer look at her—is she someone I know?, Myungsoo presumed them to think—but quickly dismissed her presence and carried on with their night.

Sunggyu was thrown out soon after, and Myungsoo could tell just by his walk that they wouldn’t be reunited with either Woohyun or Dongwoo any time soon.

-

Numb, is how Hyemin felt. She cried, but she wasn’t sure for what—or, she wasn’t sure for what she shouldn’t be crying for. So when she entered the hotel room 34B, with dry tears on her cheeks, her eyes glazed over Sungyeol and Myungsoo and she shook her head. While Sunggyu explained the details, Hyemin walked to the next room with her head down.

“What’s wrong?” Sungjong asked, coming out of the bathroom.

Hyemin stared at her friend wordlessly, but Sungjong knew what she was thinking. Her eyes were defeated, her body exhausted, her self coming apart at the ends.

“Oh, Hyemin,” he said, slowly walking towards her. He held her face in his hands, rubbing her cheeks and moving her hair out of her face. There was nothing else he could say to comfort Hyemin, the person he cared about the most. Phrases like I’ll protect you or things will get better were all lies at this point, and both of them knew it.

Suddenly, they heard shouting coming from the next room, and a loud crash. Sunggyu pinned Sungyeol up against a wall.

“You are not going anywhere,” Sunggyu ordered.

“But our friends are out there! I can’t just keep letting these guys pick us out one by one—or two by two now! We need to go after them—”

“—We need a plan, that’s what we need. You think you can beat those guys in a fight? Stop being so reckless.” Sunggyu sat down on a bed and buried his face in his hands. But Sungyeol wouldn’t back down.

“Why should I?” he yelled. “I don’t care if they get me. Who knows if our friends are dead or—”

“Our friends are alive,” Sunggyu insisted. He clenched his fists together and stared at a spot on the floor before his glare was directed to Sungyeol. Sunggyu’s eyes were different than the typical ‘listen to me’ gaze; they were wild, intense, desperate.

“Alive,” Sungyeol muttered. It was his turn, now, to have a mental breakdown. His back slid down the wall and he sat down on the floor, banging his head repeatedly against the wall.

“They’ve got to find a way to stay alive,” Hyemin said, her eyes glued to the floor. Sungjong nodded beside her. A silence overtook the room, as they all tried to come to terms with the latest kidnappings.

“Gi Company has them, right?” Myungsoo asked.

“Yes. They knocked Woohyun and Dongwoo out, and then took them away,” Sunggyu answered.

“Then they know we’re here,” Myungsoo said. He lifted up the room key he was fiddling around with and tapped it on the table he was sitting on. “As in, they know we’re here.”

“,” Sunggyu cursed. He quickly stood up from the bed and started pointing orders at the group. “Everyone pack up, now. And give me the card keys. We’re moving again.”