WHERE ARE THEY?||BND|| ✔

twelve

"Are you sure this is going to help?" Leehan asked nervously as Sungho adjusted the hidden device beneath his collar.

"I don’t know, but it’s all we’ve got," Sungho replied, his hands busy fine-tuning the setup.

"What if we get caught?" Woonhak chimed in, lounging on a nearby couch with a worried expression.

"Getting caught is the least of our worries," Sungho said firmly, stepping back from Leehan to inspect his work. "We can’t just sit here and do nothing while our friends are in danger."

After a quick once-over, Sungho gave Leehan a thumbs-up. "You’re all set. Stick to the plan, and we’ll see how it plays out." His reassuring smile gave Leehan a glimmer of confidence.

"Let’s hope everything goes smoothly," Leehan replied, managing a small smile of his own.

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"I still can’t wrap my head around any of this," Jaehyun said, sighing heavily.

"Neither could I at first, but trust me—it’s the truth," Taesan replied, brushing dirt off his shoulder.

"Everything is such a mess. I get why you’re here, Taesan, because of his daughter. I get why I’m here—I followed the clues that night. But why is Jaehyun here?" Riwoo asked, his confusion evident.

"That’s something even I can’t figure out," Taesan admitted, shaking his head.

"Maybe because I’m smart enough," Jaehyun said with a shrug.

"Hyung, please. Not the time," Taesan groaned.

"I’m just stating facts." Jaehyun shrugged again, his nonchalance irritating Taesan.

"You’re anything but smart, hyung," Taesan muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

"You—" Jaehyun started but was abruptly cut off.

"Can you both stop for a second?" Riwoo snapped, his frustration boiling over, "We’re literally kidnapped, at the mercy of some psycho, and you two are bickering like kids!"

"He started it," Jaehyun said, pointing at Taesan.

"It was you, hyung!" Taesan retorted, exasperated.

"You know what? Forget it. Do whatever you want," Riwoo grumbled, turning his back on them.

The room fell silent as reality hit them.

The man from earlier had thrown Jaehyun and Riwoo into the same room as Taesan before leaving without a word. Strangely, none of them had been hurt—no bruises, no cuts. But they had been drugged for the past two days and couldn’t recall a thing that had happened during that time. The uncertainty was nerve-wracking...

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"Let’s get this straight—one kill at a time," the man announced, standing and marching towards them. His gaze locked on Taesan, "How about you first?" he asked, feigning innocence.

Taesan shook his head furiously, his fear evident.

"Not you? Alright, then... what about you?" The man shifted his attention to Jaehyun.

Jaehyun tensed but didn’t speak.

"No? Hmm, I’ll start with you, then," the man said, pointing his gun at Riwoo, who stood unusually calm.

Slowly approaching Riwoo, he raised the gun to the boy’s forehead, but Riwoo’s composure didn’t falter. It was the reaction he least expected.

"You guys are no fun," the man muttered, shaking his head in disappointment.

A tense silence followed, broken by the sudden ringing of a phone. The unexpected sound made all three of them flinch.

The man turned away, fished the phone out of his pocket, and answered it.

"What do you mean she isn’t home?" he barked, his voice laced with anger.

Three of them exchanged confused glances before returning their attention to the man.

"Don’t wait for me. Start searching for her. I’m on my way," the man growled before hanging up.

Without another word, he stormed out of the room, leaving behind the phone—and the gun he’d just been using to threaten them.

The three boys stared at the discarded items in stunned silence.

"Should we check the phone? It might help us," Taesan suggested, looking at Riwoo for guidance.

"Let’s do it," Riwoo replied, stepping forward cautiously.