time diplomat | kim taehyung ✔

| Departed And Lost |

Astra's heels clicked against the marbled floor as she took a last look at the number on the key she had.

Room number 217.

Counting down the other door numbers, she stood at number 216, sharp at the doorstep, expecting Yeonjun to have already arrived in his suite but, it was locked and no one responded to her knocks. 

She walked to her room assigned by the Historical Branch to see her bags and essential stuff already arranged neatly by the couch. She plopped on the bed, picked up the spare mobile, and scrolled through the contacts to find her partner's name saved in.

But, Yeonjun wasn't picking up his calls either.

Now, was she lost, or was he?

Astra gulped, she knew Yeonjun was not just any common person- he was well trained and educated on what to do at such times but, she was not getting any peace by that. She had to look for her partner but, before that, she had to have someone well-known to this city first.

_ _ _ _ _

Yeonjun's eyes snapped open once he started to feel the temperature around him rise. The sight around him was pretty normal but not something he saw every day.

He was in something that felt like a prison- with dense bars on the top corner.

Slow whispers filled the air as he tried to adjust to the darkness- trying to feel the hard wall under his palms and trying to get any sense of scent but, he was met with nothing. His torso felt light- he had no shirt on. 

His watch was gone too.

"Oh, my! Astra!" He yelled, receiving only whimpering sounds from the other side of the fortress. He couldn't seem to calm down- all he remembered was falling from the thin line he was stuck on and his other hand unconsciously fumbling with his watch.

His throat felt dry and he probably stepped on some kind of liquid. He was crying and sniffling until slowly the room was starting to get illuminated- the sun was rising. He rubbed his eyes, glancing front to what he thought were scary and buffed-up men but, it turned out to be the complete opposite.

There were around five men, on the ground, huddled in the corner with their hands crossed, faces stained with tears, and shackles holding their feet back- they looked frightened as if he was gonna hurt them. Below was a puddle of red.

Yeonjun was in chaos now, and he had to escape as fast as he can. He had to find Astra before something went wrong again.

_ _ _ _ _

Astra continued clicking each and every button on her 'complicated-looking' watch. As the first one was pressed, a loud buzzing sound echoed in the frosty air around her. "H-Hello?"

"Hey, Astra. What's up?"

She sighed and sat properly on the bed, "Yeah, hey. Um . . . Can you track where Daniel is? We arrived here at the same time but, now, I can't seem to find him."

The buzzing sounds resonated from the other line and Astra's heart was beating faster and faster- one, the oxygen level in the room seemed scarce and two, she was afraid for her friend.

"Daniel? Choi Daniel? He went with you?"

"What kind of a question is that? Of course, Daniel left with me!"

"But, I don't see any signals coming from 2026 . . ."

"Pardon me, what?"

"Daniel is not in 2026 and I'm not receiving any signals from any other time period as well."

Astra groaned and brought her other hand to her face- sliding it across her cheek and sighing. "Daniel was with me! Try looking for him. I'm sure he's somewhere out there."

"Oho, Astra! Maybe he lost his time watch?"

"I don't really know. What should I do, now?!"

"Shall I try talking to bo-"

"No. Don't open up a single word about this to the boss. Daniel is better off dead instead of facing him after this. Tell me something else. Please."

The person hummed and after a minute or two, they opened their mouth. "Try looking for him in the city. I'll forward you the location of one of our agents who'll be there to help you."