The whiteness, the pure, untarnished absence of any color seemed to compress around me for an infinite instant, lasting forever yet not even long enough for me to begin to miss breathing. Not that I could've, with what I had seen.
"So?" Keeda looked me up and down, as did the thirteen other people standing around me. In other words, all but Professor Bon-Hwa and Mrs. Choi had gathered in the few seconds I'd been gone.
"She survived!" Max stared at me in shock, then he, Mun Hyo, and Lee Hyun-ae whipped out notepads and began to scribble with such ferocity I was surprised the paper didn't rip at every jab.
"She survived..." Johta eyed me, as if looking for something, perhaps my eye balls popping out or a loose shoelace. Never can tell with Johta.
"Um. Yeah." I grinned nervously. "Surprise!" It came out a lot more shaky than I wanted, and instantly Sohyee stepped forward, filling the break in conversation with the question weighing heavily on everyone's mind.
"Who wants a sandwich and some tea?" The awkwardness burst like a soap bubble, and we all smiled slightly, Max bouncing slightly.
"Decaf for Max, though." Mun Hyo raked her eyes over him, and he winked at her, drawing laughter from the rest of us. The relationship between Max and Mun Hyo was such that they could've been married for years, the way they argued and teased each other. It was a bit of a running joke in Thrusk to try and get them to go out together- unfortunately it hadn't happened yet.
"Lex, what happened..?" Johta asked as the group began to make its noisy way over to the kitchen. I had all but forgotten, or rather, tried to forget what I had seen. It came back in a rush now, however, and I choked, stopping where I stood- in the middle of the hall outside the Hall of Horrors. Right in front of the TV running the news.
"What's wrong, Lex?" Mi-hi asked, brow furrowing.
"The reason I went back." My voice was a hoarse whisper, and I looked slowly up at the group, all of whom were now staring at him.
"Taehyung. Kim Taehyung is going to be kidnapped five days from now." You could've heard a pin drop, and it reminded me of the strange, empty silence in Future-Thrusk. "And Thrusk-"
"Wait." Hyun-ae cut me off. "V? Of BTS? That group you love so much?"
"Yeah." I decided to bring up the situation in Future-Thrusk later; the kidnapping was more important.
"So... this is what caused the freak out on the Timeline?" Mun Hyo titled her head, pencil tapping against her nose as she thought.
"Yeah." I responded, mind racing as well.
"What do we do?" Keeda asked, eyes wide.
"I don't know. Any ideas?" Instantaneously the entire room burst into sound as Thrusk did something out of the ordinary- planning.
"Maybe-"
"I think-"
"-too dangerous-"
"-that's not-"
"-well, really, the conditions-"
"Kidnapping!" Max cried triumphantly, eyes bright with the prospect of a felony.
The room went quite quiet, then Keeda laughed nervously. "Max? What do you mean?"
"Well, if you're telling the truth, with no interference, what's his name-"
"Taehyung-"
"-is kidnapped. So we interfere and kidnap him first!"
Something about that irked at me. Without any interference on our part, Taehyung would be kidnapped. But with a band of rather crazy jumpers meddling around, perhaps it would worsen the situation. "And anyway, what if the kidnappers are jumpers too?"
I hadn't realized I said it aloud; everyone merely turned and glared at me.
"Wow, way to ruin my idea." Max grumbled.
Seo Hyo shrugged. "Come up with a better one Lex. Just try."
I struggled for a moment, but my lip, then sighed. "Fine. We're going to kidnap someone, then?"
Sohyee looked as if she couldn't decide whether to scream in joy or cry; Johta looked angry, and Keeda smiled.
"Oh, do let's!"
