The Sound of Bells (BTS Jungkook)

Chapter 15: Privacy

A young Miyoung frantically ran through the warehouse when she had not seen Dohee's body next to her that morning. It was unlikely Dohee would get kidnapped from the roof of an abandoned warehouse, especially with so many homeless bustling about and awake at all hours of the night. But still, she feared the worst.

She asked every person who hadn't left on their rounds if they had seen her, all to no avail. She was getting ready to search the surrounding neighborhood when she had run into an old woman shuffling a cart into the entrance.

"Miss, have you seen a teenage girl, about this tall? She might have been wearing red lipstick."

"Oh, your friend? She left early this morning, around sunrise. Why, did she not tell you?"

"...What?"

"She was walking out with some of your stuff this morning. I figured she was taking an early morning shift or something, though just so you know, nobody is up at that time so there's no point."

Miyoung's voice caught in her throat and she ran past the woman, calling Dohee's name. She ran for miles around town, but her friend was nowhere to be found.

"Miyoung," a voice echoed in her dreams. "Miyoung. Wake up."

Miyoung fluttered her eyelids open, following the voice. She was met with Sanghoon's familiar face, who looked at her blankly. "You'll want to see this." He stood up and walked back to his computer.

She pulled herself from the mess of blankets on the couch and groggily made her way over to Sanghoon. The dimness of the room reminded her that it was still the middle of the night. She had gone over shortly after Woobin's departure and must have fallen asleep on the couch.

"I hope it's good news," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. She squinted to adjust to the brightness of his computer screen. It took her a few moments to register what she was seeing - a blown-up window of a chat log of some kind. Then it dawned on her - that was a Makao chat window. She blinked to clear her eyes and moved closer to the screen.

"Is that..."

"Yep," Sanghoon said proudly. "We're in Sera's Makao chat. And this is her chat log with 'chimfan43,' who you think is Jungkook, right?"

Miyoung didn't answer, because she was already deep into reading what she could see on the screen. Then she scooted Sanghoon's chair over and took control of the mouse, scrolling to the beginning. She could feel the adrenaline pulsing as she read that Jungkook made first contact, and they were making some kind of deal. Was it separate from the BT31 contract?

Sanghoon stood up and gently nudged Miyoung into the office chair, then found a stool to sit on beside her. He skimmed the messages over her shoulder, wondering what exactly she was so hellbent on finding. The conversations were boring to him, and after a while he checked out and scrolled through his phone as Miyoung read on.

--

Sera had seen Eunji's message in the morning, after she had her breakfast. It was too late in Korea now for her to expect a reply, but she left a message anyway:

Moon Sera:

Eunji-shi, it's great to hear from you! I can catch up any time, so just let me know what works within your schedule. I don't have set work hours right now.

She had thought about how to reply to Jungkook's latest Makao chat.

seramoonie:

I'm glad to hear that I'm not on Yoongi's hit list anymore hahaha. By the way, I'm sending you our final recommendations for the webtoon artist. When you get a chance, let us know which one you want to go with. Better yet, let me know when you're free for a quick chat :)