“So, tell us again how Himchan ended up in this situation?” Janice asked, poking her pen into her hair. Seeing her like this, I was both proud and little intimidated by her. Sweet, innocent and bubbly Janice had suddenly turned into a bossy, controlling business woman. Everything about her now was work, order and “make sure you got your facts right!”.

I rolled my eyes at Bang and he groaned, translating for the boys for what seemed like the thousandth time. Although the boys looked at Janice with admiring and respectful eyes, I could see that Zelo, a kid only barely just turned seventeen, was starting to get bored. He was fidgeting on the floor and kept sighing, rolling his eyes up at the ceiling occasionally.

“Geez, someone has ants in their pants” Jongup muttered and Bang snorted. Whispering a quick translation to me, I gave a low chuckle as well but immediately stopped when I saw Janice glare at me. She was still firing questions at Youngjae and struggling to keep up, Bang was doing the best he could. Youngjae however did not seem to mind and gazed at her patiently, always answering questions quickly and politely.

“Okay, here’s the story, for the last time” Daehyun suddenly piped up, clearly having enough of Janice hogging his princess all to herself.

“Himchan hyung was just having a regular day, going to classes, studying in the library, even hanging out with friends that he had made. However, when he retired to his dorm that day, no one saw him the next day, or the next. Obviously, people started to get curious and little bit worried. So they got the university’s security to investigate Himchan’s room. They found traces of a struggle and a note that no one had noticed before, taped under his bed. It demanded that we pay at least ten million dollars from our own pockets, or else they wouldn’t release him” Daehyun explained all of this in a rush and as Bang translated for us, Janice nodded solemnly and jotted down a few notes on a brand new notepad.

“Uh Janice? I don’t it’s a very good idea to record all of this information down. You never know who might find it” I said nervously, stepping around shattered glass, afraid for my own life by accidentally provoking her. She raised her head very slowly and met my eyes with an intense stare and I gulped, clutching Bang’s arm involuntarily. Hearing Jongup and Zelo’s sniggers, I quickly let go of him, noticing that he had flushed a bright red.

“You’re right! Oh gosh, this is so exciting. It’s like we stepped into a set of Mission Impossible! I should burn these notes so no one will ever see them!” Janice’s eyes widened and she squealed. Breathing a sigh of relief, I let her live in her fantasy for the second. Finally, Bang cleared his throat and spoke up nervously. The boys had also been staring at her, as if they were regretting letting a mentally unstable person into their apartment in the first place.

“Um Janice? This is serious. Isn’t Himchan your bias? You do want him safe, don’t you?” scratching the back of his head, Bang glanced down at his crossed legs and I nodded in agreement. She narrowed her eyes at him then retorted “Of course I’m worried. But let me just have this moment of excitement, alright? It’s not like I do a lot of exciting things in my life anyway”. Shooting a glare at me as if it were my fault that her life wasn’t more inventive I shook my head and smiled. This was so typical of Janice, to place the blame on someone else.

“Alright, alright, let’s get round to business. Did these people give any indication of their whereabouts?” studying each of the boys in turn, they all looked confused and turned to Bang to translate for them. Hearing it, Youngjae turned toward me and nodded, smiling a smug smile.

“Hey, just because you’re the first to have useful information doesn’t mean you can get cocky about it” I muttered under my breath and Janice snorted, leaving all the boys with confused expressions, even Bang Yong Guk.

“The video was filmed in a club not far from here. It is known as a favourite haunt for criminals, drug dealers, all types of shady people. You get the idea” Youngjae continued, giving us the first big step in our investigation. Sitting in silence for a while, we all sat in deep thought. Finally, I stood up, pulling Bang along with me. Everyone turned their heads to stare at us shamelessly and waited expectantly for an answer.

“We should really go check it out. Janice, you stay here, alright?” concerned for Janice’s safety, I decided that it would best for her to stay safe and locked up in the boys’ dorm. Seeing the hurt look on her face, I shook my and placed my hands on her shoulders.

“No offense, Janice, but you know you don’t know how to defend yourself but I can. What if something bad happens? I can’t let my best friend get hurt” I explained as gently as I could and sighing in agreement, she plonked herself down onto the couch again. Gesturing for the boys to follow, we exited the room in single file, feeling Janice’s scrutinizing eyes on us the whole time.

“Can I stay here as well?” I heard Zelo mutter something but quickly dismissed it, deciding that it was not important.