The sun has only just risen and seven figures make their way out of the Seoul Incheon Airport, wheeling their varying luggage sizes at more or less the same time, as the bulk crowd off their flight exits.
Kim Namjoon stands to one end of the long line of people awaiting their loved ones. He stands with a flimsy white board, displaying six names for the six strangers that are emerging.
Min Yoongi is the first to appear, his wavy black locks dancing against his forehead as he searches for any signs of familiarity. His eyes narrow as he sees Namjoon, recognising both the man and a name on the board he holds.
"Glad you could make it." Namjoon says, outstretching his arm. Yoongi doesn't take it.
"Very well then." Namjoon continues. "If hostile is how we're going, so be it. I suggest you figure out how you're gonna lug your bags without the trolley, 'cause we're leaving as soon as the others arrive."
"Others?" Yoongi says, surprised. "What the fuck?"
"You'll see." Namjoon says simply.
"You have quite a liking for the elementary of surprise, don't you?" Yoongi spits out bitterly. "It's not amusing."
"I'm not here to amuse or appease, Min Yoongi. Believe me when I say I have no interest in entertaining all of your dumb brains and minuscule understandings."
"Excuse me?"
Namjoon stares at his companion with narrowed eyes, his expression one of dismissal. Do you really want to challenge my clear intellectual superiority over you?
Yoongi obligingly shuts up for the next couple of minutes, until there's two more young men walking towards them, from two opposite ends of the airport doors.
Namjoon recognises them as the oldest and the youngest, Kim Seokjin and Jeon Jungkook.
"Hello." Namjoon says monotonously, evidently hating his job as part-time chauffeur. "We wait for the others, there're three more."
"Are you kidding me?" Jungkook says. "We're already four and now there's more?"
"Jae Eun was a player." Yoongi deadpans, still sulking.
"Let's not badmouth her right away." Jin says, wincing. "A little civility won't hurt."
"Fucking peacemakers." Yoongi grumbles. He's clearly handling the situation worst, and Namjoon wants nothing to do with the complaining bunch of wannabe-kindergarteners.
"Suck it up, geeks." He says. "Shut your faces. I'll give you your answers and shit once everyone gets here." He holds up the sign again, catching a vague glimpse of who looks like Park Jimin.
"Stupid, stupid Jae Eun."
•
The seven men are cramped up in the eight-seater vehicle, occupied to full capacity owing to the presence of a driver. They sit in silence, unsure of what to say to each other, and Namjoon sits in the passenger seat, scrolling through his phone to block out the awkwardness.
The message still sits clearly before him.
You were the last. She trusted you most, so I do too. We need all seven pieces to complete the puzzle.
He goes over the sentences again and again, half-expecting the words to move around and change, to form something that would give him a clue.
Because the message was an anonymous text, controlling him and his actions. There were only instructions and deadlines, consequence and repercussions. Nobody gave him a name, place or assurance. He has no idea who the sender is, or even if Jae Eun is really kidnapped or not.
He thinks of the other six, and his train of thought stops at disappointment.
He realises, he's all alone.
•
