I almost panic. Is this real? I should call the police, shouldn’t I?

Suddenly my phone plays “Dang Dang Dang” and I’m so startled that I almost throw it away. Jjong, thank God, someone to talk to about this.

“Jinki?” he shouts breathless, “I’ve just received a fricking incredible message ...” he seems to be running, “... Yoogeun has been kidnapped ...”

I cut him short informing him, that I received the same message.

“What?”

“It just came in, a minute before you called”, I say, “I had almost deleted it when I realized it’s Yoogeun on that chair.”

“What chair?” he asks, startled.

What chair? ... Does that mean he received a different message?

I decide against discussing this right now

“Where are you?” I ask him.

“Jogging back to the hotel”, he says, “I’ll just get my stuff and take the next flight. I’m coming home.”

In spite of the dire situation I have to smile at that. He’s coming home.

“I’ll call you again from the airport”, he promises, “and don’t inform the police yet.”

“But ...” I want to argue.

“Jinki, they’re gonna kill him if the police gets involved. Didn’t you read the message?”

He hangs up and my brain starts working again.  Does it make sense at all that he’s returning here? What can he do anyway? But still I’m relieved that I’m not on my own with this. Oh, and what message?

I take a closer look at my inbox and there is indeed a text as well. It says:

“Thursday, 10:00 pm, 100.000.000 Won, unmarked notes, handing over by SHINee members, location announced later. Don’t up, he’ll die ...”

And then in bold capitals “... DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT POLICE!”

Wait wait wait ... what about Yoogeuns family? They should have noticed that he’s missing certainly. But why haven’t THEY called yet?

The phone rings again, a land-line. Maybe it’s them right now.

“Hyung?” It’s Taemin instead.

“Did you also get a video-message?” I ask him without preface.

“Video-message?” he asks back.

“About Yoogeun ...”

“He’s been kidnapped”, Taemin says, “I’ve just seen it on TV. He didn’t come home after school. Check the news ...”

I’m confused. How can it be on the news already?

“So you didn’t get the message?”

“What message?”

“Jjong and me we both got video-clips ...”

“I’ve lost my phone.”

Oh, alright, nothing new actually. I haven’t even processed the text yet but I automatically say:

“Come here please. I’m at the dorm. Jjong is coming too.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure”, he says and hangs up. Good old Taeminnie, still not questioning what he’s asked to do.

I look at my watch. It’s 10:15 pm ... Tuesday. , is this like a movie or something? 48 hours? They’re going to kill Yoogeun? Is this for real?

Taemin will probably be here within an hour. What should I do? So it’s already in the news. Did his parents call the police? That’s too dangerous right now. Yoogeun will be killed, no? And how did the media get wind of this? Probably someone leaked it out. Yoogeun is a celebrity of some kind, isn’t he? Especially through the connection to us.

The TV is still running. I switch to KBS news and there it is in the ticker. ... Jung Yoogeun, former “SHINee’s Hello Baby” candidate missing. Police don’t rule out kidnapping ...

Don’t rule out kidnapping? Well, it obviously IS kidnapping, isn’t it?

“Dream Girl” returns my attention to the phone. Minho. Obviously we all got something.

“You know, I guess”, he says, “Did you already do anything?”

“Like what?” I ask back.

“Call the police, contact the parents ...”

“No, I haven’t taken any actions yet, we’re not supposed to, they’re gonna kill Yoogeun!”

Minho swallows hard.

“So you believe they’re serious?”

Do I believe they are? I have no idea. How am I supposed to know?

“I don’t want to risk anything”, I say, “well not yet anyway. I really don’t know.”

“I can take the next flight tomorrow morning”, it sounds like a question.

“Yeah”, I say, “Jjong and Taemin are coming too. Let’s meet at the dorm.”