Invisible Bond

Part 7

I wake up panting like I ran a marathon. 

I look around and find all my friends dozing off here and there. Iris and Laura were probably doing something on a laptop, Natasha and Angelica look like they were on their phones and Cheryl and Tori look like they were doing nothing. That was just like them ! They are always jobless !

I chuckle to myself and get up and go to Sele's room to WAKE her up. That's when the reality comes rushing to me and I feel like a stone dropped into my heart. Last night's events come back to me. 

That's why everyone was on some or the other gadgets ! They were trying to locate Selena, they said they were gonna help me find her!

I rush downstairs and wake everyone up. They wake up groggily and start complaining :

Angelica : Ur kidding me ! I'm not a morning person ! Lemme sleee--

The rest of her words are consumed away  by her huge yawn.

Cheryl : Oh God ! Have u even looked at the time ? Only owls would be awake now !

Natasha : My Lord ! I'd rather still be having that nightmare than wake up now !

Laura, Iris and Tori were just getting started on their complaints when I cut in,

"Umm... Guys ! You know you guys told me that you were gonna help me find Selena ?"

As soon as I said Selena's name, I had succeeded in getting everyone's rapt attention.

Everyone seemed to remember the previous night and they were all looking worried now.

I looked at my phone and saw that I had received a message. I opened the message not daring to see what was in there:

UP: Hello there ! Sweetheart ! Are you still mad ! I hope ur not cz ur sis is totally fine and I would keep treating her like a princess if u will be willing to do as I say.

I could see that the message was written only a few minutes ago and the time now was 5 in the morning. Without hesitating, I replied:

Me : I promise I'll do anything u say as long as u wont hurt my sister and tell me where she's kept.

His reply came back instantly :

I'll start with easy ones now. Your first task : 

>> Go to the Seoul park near the entrance. There u will find a box somewhere around the bench no. 1. Type the password 12012. Then retrieve the phone inside it and only use that whenever you have to call me or msg me.

I hope that's clear enough ? 

I show the message to my friends who had by then started freshening themselves up and had gotten ready. They all agreed to come with me saying, "We will come with you everywhere until we find that jerk and save your sis !"

 I felt all teary-eyed hearing them saying this, but I knew I was wasting my time so I quickly rushed upstairs and changed into casuals.

We all stepped out of my house. It felt good to breath in the fresh air but suddenly I felt guilty to feel good when my sis wasn't by my side. I bolted the door and switched on my main entrance CCTV. Satisfied with my work, all seven of us started a brisk walk to the park.

............

We reached the Seoul park finally. I could see children running around playing tag and some others swinging in the swings, surprising as it was only 6 am then.

I suddenly had a flashback of the day we seven had a hangout in an other park recently. I wanted to turn back time so I could prepare myself and protect Selena so she wouldn't have to see the horrors she has seen by now.

I take a deep breath and clear my mind. My friends are looking at me expectantly like I would say something encouraging and all our spirits will be lifted and we'll be able to find that jerk faster than what was possible . 

But, to their disappointment I had nothing to say. I wasn't my cheery self anymore. I stride forward and enter the huge park which was pretty and calm even though there were a lot of people. My friends also followed me. 

We went around in search of bench no.1 and found it after sometime when, we were already half-convinced that it must have been that jerk's sense of humor to prank us and there wasn't any bench no.1 after all. 

But we found it, alright. It was an old bench with its red paint peeling off due to it's age. Though it look so old, it looked sturdy enough to hold three people maximum without giving away. And at the back of the bench in bold white paint was the number 1. 

Cheryl's remark as always was blunt, " Who on earth would wanna use this old, creaky bench as a landmark for some stupid box with a phone in it ?" she retorted.

Tori on the other hand looked thoughtfully at the bench and said, " Well, it's the perfect spot to hide something without raising suspicion. "

I nodded in agreement and we started looking for the box.

After fifteen minutes of thorough searching also, we couldn't find that box.

Iris all sweaty and tired sat down on the grass and stretched her legs out, " Where is that damned box ? I knew that jerk wouldn't keep it as simple as he says it is. "

I also sat beside Iris and Natasha and Angelica also joined us and sat down, all worn out. 

Laura, Cheryl and Tori helped themselves onto that bench and started looking around and checking to see if they missed any spot.

Laura was squinting in her seat looking around when suddenly her phone slipped out of her pocket and fell down.

CLANG !

We all looked at Laura and found that she had jumped out of her seat upon hearing that sound and crouched down to look at her phone.

She stretched her hand under the bench and picked her phone, by then we all got up and crouched around the bench as well.

I watch Laura with wonder as she slowly slided her hand above a green patch of grass on which her phone had fallen. She slowly grabbed a handful of grass in that area and wrenched it out.

It came out easily revealing a transparent box with a new phone inside it.

Everyone chorused, " Waaaaahhhhh ! " as Laura pulled out out the box and placed it on her lap. She look at me questioningly as if she was asking permission to open it. I nodded reassuringly. She typed the password and gently opened the box and lifted the phone and inspected it.

" It looks like the new model which hasn't even been introduced in the market." Laura says and hands the phone to me.

Natasha asks suspiciously, " If the jerk is a criminal of some sort, threatening you to do stuff for him. Then why would he bother buying you such an expensive new phone ?"

Natasha had voiced the same question which had been going in my mind. I inspected the phone. It looked new, alright. Unmarked, and when I tilted it towards the sky to let the sunlight bounce off it and give a clear view of the fingerprints, it looked as if no one had touched it either, except Laura and me , of course.

Iris brushed off her jeans and stood up. "We should head back home now, I need to call Nam-" and stopped widening her eyes, realizing what she said.

I stood up too, brushing of the grass off my jeans. I looked at her, " Call who ?"

She immediately started stuttering, " Uh..you knoww....you know th- th- that ..."

Tori immediately cuts in, " Namadaki Restaurant! Yes ! That was it !She was gonna call that restaurant to order our breakfast, right ?"

Iris immediately looks relieved, " Yes , yes , that one itself !"

I found it a little weird, how they were acting but decided to let it go as I wasn't in the mood to question them.

X-----------------x------------------X

Lesson 7 over ! It wasn't much fun, I know but I promise I'll write a better one next time.

I might take some time to upload my next chapter, but until then wait for it ! 

Love u guys ! Saranghaee ! Fighting !