Taehyung's POV-

"Are you almost there?" I ask anxiously.

"I'm just walking up to my dorm now, then I can get to my laptop." He says quickly as I hear keys being jingled in the background.

The line goes silent for a few moments as he presumably gets into his room.

"We didn't have much success with this before as I'm sure you remember, but I think I do have saved somewhere what we are looking for... the issue is where it might be."

The amount of mights, maybes and I thinks Chanyeol has said during this call has heightened my anxiety exponentially, but I'm still holding on to the hope that he will have the file we are needing so we can-

"Found it!" He says excitedly.

"Oh thank God." I exhale, legs nearly collapsing beneath me at the amount of relief I feel. "And this is the lead you had found before? When we were looking for Hyuk?" I clarify.

"It is. It's not much but I think it's a good start. You said this might lead to who Irene is going after? Her other investigator?"

"Yeah. He's in danger and we don't know how to get ahold of Hyuk to tell him this, if he doesn't already know, so I'm hoping you can use that to find a location or something. Really anything because right now I have no idea where to begin."

The more I think about it the heavier my heart feels. This is our fault. If anything happens to him I would never forgive myself. And the way Seulgi was so obviously worried about him doesn't help my nerves either.

She said that this guy, Jinyoung, was someone Irene has worked with for a while. Irene is very fond of the man and has introduced him as a friend to a few people, including Seulgi.

I've never known Seulgi to be very genuine as far as speaking kindly about others (I mean, she's basically my equal as far as falsifying relationships and feelings) but she meant every word she said about him. We need to protect him.

"We need to find him. Do you think you can get working on this as soon as possible?"

"Y-yeah. Of course, I'll get on it now and I'll let you know as soon as I find something."

I nod with a tense smile. "Thank you. Let me know."

"Will do-" his words get cut short when a knocking sound can be heard. If I can hear it as clearly as I just did it must be quite loud.

After some shuffling sounds he gets back on the line, "I'll get working on it but someone is at the door so I've got to go. I'll be in touch."

"Great. Thanks again." I say with a little bit more of a genuine smile.

After I hang up the line I lower the phone, setting it on the countertop in front of me before placing my palms flat on the surface.

I hope with all my heart she hasn't gotten to that guy yet. That she is in the studio or ended up meeting her parents or that she is even in her partner just around the building from me. Anywhere but with him.

I need to find out if luck is somehow on my side and she is at one of the aforementioned places. I pick the phone up again, opening my contacts as I begin to think of who I know at the company that might be in right now. Someone who could tell me if Irene is there or if she had been seen yet today.

The first person that comes to mind is Yeri. I know there's some sort of school break going on currently that she was so excited about because it meant that she would be free to spend more time in her days at the company instead of doing schoolwork. She would be there now if that is still the case, but I'm not sure.

Even if that is the case, she's still upset with me so I don't think I should call her. Besides, the next time I talk to her should be to apologize not to ask for a favor.

I feel terrible for misleading her because I really have grown quite fond of the girl. She is a ray of sunshine, a breath of fresh air, and I could have cut ties with her as soon as I started dating Seulgi but didn't because I simply didn't want to.

I like the little spitfire. She really is a good friend and she deserves for me to confess to her the intentions behind all of this, but I haven't had the proper time to sit down with her to do so.

I want to talk to her, but not about this so I'll stick to reaching out to one of the guys. With that in mind I scroll to my next choice, Sehun, before pressing send.

*RING* *RING* *RING*

"Taehyung-sii, what can I do for you?"

"Hey, sorry if you're busy but are you at the company?"

"Yes I am. It's actually funny you called. Yeri was just talking about you. Her Taehyungie Oppa." He says in a teasing tone.

I sigh. "She's mad at me."

"Hmm" he hums as if in contemplation, "I wouldn't say she was mad, but she was definitely anxious. She asked if she could use my car to come and see you because it was urgent."

Urgent? And Yeri asked him for his car? That doesn't sound like her. Yeri isn't that bold. She wouldn't just come out and ask someone, especially not her crush, to use something like that. What's going on?

I called to ask him a simple question regarding if he has seen Irene recently but him bringing up Yeri completely distracts me from that.

"She said she had to talk to you about something 'very important.' Did she find a ride? Have you seen her yet?" he asks.

"I haven't seen-"

I suddenly hear quick, repetitive knocking on my door.

"Actually, there is someone at the door. It might be her." I stand up from the couch, phone still to my ear.

When I reach the door, I quickly swing it open to see Yeri. She is looking away from my apartment, instead staring anxiously down the hall. As soon as she doesn't feel the door under her knuckles, she turns to look at me.

When we meet eyes she rushes around the door that is partway open and shuts it softly behind her before locking both the doorknob and the deadbolt.

Still facing the door with her back to me, I watch as her shoulders rise and fall, taking a deep breath before she turns to face me again. I nearly drop my phone when she rushes towards me, throwing her arms around my waist as she buries her head against my chest.

"Did she make it?" I hear Sehun ask.

"Yeah she's here. Can I call you back?"

"No problem. Tell her I said next time she should come to the company with a full bag of candy if she expects me to accept a bribe." He chuckles. "Bye Taehyungie Oppa. Take care."

I don't respond to his teasing before I lower my phone, glancing at the screen to end the call before looking back down at Yeri.

I can feel her small shoulders are shaking. Is she crying?

I slide my phone into my back pocket before I wrap my arms around her, returning the hug. I pat gently for a few moments until I hear her mumble something into my chest. It's too quiet for me to be able to make out what she's said.

"Yeri? Is everything okay?"

She shakes her head quickly as she raises her head to look up at me.

"No, everything is a mess!" She pouts angrily before her bottom lip starts to tremble and she lets out a loud sob.

I raise my brows at her cursing before I speak softly against her hair, "What happened?"

"I-I saw him... he looked like he'd been beaten up. Why would they do that to him?!" She cries before looking up at me again. "Hyuk said he might be in trouble but he didn't-"

"Hyuk?" I cut her off with wide eyes. "How do you know Hyuk? And when did you talk to him?"

"He told me to come find you as soon as possible. He told me to warn you about a voicemail he got from her about Jinyoung Oppa. He told me to ask you to keep an eye on him because he was in danger. I didn't believe him. Who could hurt sweet Jinyoung Oppa?"

Jinyoung Oppa? Has Irene introduced the guy to all of her friends? And if so, why? Why him?

She didn't do that with Hyuk. People I spoke with had little more recognition for Hyuk then knowing that they had heard his name said a few times. Now I'm hearing Seulgi and Yeri both know this guy well enough to cry over his safety being in danger? Strange.

"I tried to go visit him to see if he was okay myself, so I could tell Hyuk he was wrong, but just as I was about to pass by a hallway on my way to see him I heard raised voices. Then I heard a man say his name. They were scolding him to pick his feet up and keep walking.

"I walked closer so that I could peak around the corner into the hall they were in and saw two big men walking into the entrance of the stairwell, each holding one of Oppa's arms.

"I waited a few seconds to give me some distance before I followed them quietly. I was a little ways behind but I followed them the few flights down to the parking structure. When I got down there shortly after I saw them push him into the backseat of a black SUV before they sped away. He was so bloody and it all happened to fast!" She fists my shirt in her small hands as she continues to cry. "They took him! Where did they take him?!"

I gulp before pulling her more tightly into my arms as I process what she's said.

Okay, Irene took him. She has Jinyoung. Who knows what she is going to do with him, but she has him. Hyuk knows about him being in danger and he reached out to Yeri. Wait... Hyuk reached out to Yeri.

Yeri might have his new number!

Just as I'm about to ask her for her phone I feel her slump slightly, as if ready to collapse, while she continues to shake with each sob.

I lean down, keeping one arm around her waist while placing my other under her knees as I scoop her up into my arms to carry her to my living room. She continues to cry, nuzzling her head into my neck as we walk.

Once I sit her down I grab the blanket that was laid across the back of the couch to tuck it around her. As I bring my arms up to place the blanket around her shoulders she throws her arms around my neck.

I let out a sigh as I hug the tiny girl again. She is so distraught and it breaks my heart.

"... he was so bloody. They hurt him... Why would they do that?" She whispers.

"I promise I'm going to do whatever I can to help him." I say in a gentle voice before placing a kiss on her head.

"H-Hyuk," she sniffles before she pulls away to face me. "Hyuk wants to talk to you."

My brows raise in surprise. Just as I'm about to ask if she knows where he is or how I should get ahold of him she speaks.

"He told me to give you this." She pouts as she reaches under the blanket, pulling out her tiny purse that somehow has managed to stay strapped around her shoulder, and takes out a black flip phone.

She hands the phone to me and I immediately open it, clicking on the contact list. There are two numbers saved and both are unfamiliar to me.

"Which number do I call?" I ask before looking back up at her.

"It's the first one." She says quietly, still sniffling as her sad pout deepens.

My heart melts at her puffy cheeks and red nose. She looks like a tiny, sad porcelain doll. She is so shaken up and I feel terrible.

"I have a lot of things I need to say and explain to you, but for now I just want to start off by saying that I'm so sorry." I bring my free hand up to cup her cheek. "I'm sorry that you're involved in all of this and especially that you had to see your friend get taken away like that. I'm so sorry."

She blinks her eyes shut, causing a few tears to escape her waterline. Eyes still closed she offers a quiet "Thank you Oppa."

I place another kiss on her head before finishing my previous task of tugging the blanket around her shoulders. I tell her to get some rest while I call Hyuk before I stand up and exit the living room to go to my bedroom.

Once there I close the door part way, so I can still here Yeri in case she calls for me, before pressing send and bringing the phone to my ear.

*RING*

"Yeri?"

"No. This is Taehyung."

"Is she okay? She was pretty shaken up last I spoke with her."

"She's resting but yes, she is quite distraught. She told you she saw them take him?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so what do we do now? Do you know where she is taking him and we can meet there or something?"

It sounds like such a stupid request. Like I'm asking to meet for lunch instead of hoping to save someone from being killed.

"Taehyung, I need you to go to the company. There's a room there and I'm going to give you the key code to get inside. You need to try your best to not be seen, but once you get there call me and I'll tell you what to look for."

What? Going to the company to look for him is a fucking waste of time! He won't be there.

"Irene took him out of the company building. He isn't going to be there."

He lets out a long sigh. "Taehyung, he is gone."

My breath hitches in my throat. "What? What do you mean? There's still time. There's no way-"

"He was my friend too Taehyung. But he's gone. She has him."

"Was? Why are you speaking in past tense. Didn't she just take him within the last hour? We have time. We can find him. We can save him!" I whisper yell into the phone.

"Taehyung, listen to me."

The line goes silent as my eyes begin to tear up.

"Room twelve twenty on the fifth floor. The code is zero-eight-zero-four-one-two. Got it?" He says slowly.

I suck in a sharp breath as I nod. "Got it. I'll head over as soon as possible."

"Very well. And Taehyung" he pauses, "I am going to try to find where she's taken him, but please don't get your hopes up... Or Yeri's."

I reach my hand to wipe a falling tear as I answer back shakily. "Okay. Let me know if there's anything I can do. I'll be in touch."

He says a short goodbye and I end the call, tossing the device onto my bed as I lay back on it. I bring my hands up to my face as I try to gather my emotions.

He doesn't want me to get my hopes up. He understands the danger his friend is in.

He knows Irene isn't going to simply have him beat up. He knows just like I do that Irene is an unpredictable force to be reckoned with. That she wouldn't be taking this lightly.

Why didn't Mrs Jeon understand that as well? What will it take for her to finally stop underestimating her.