kicks ✓ || namgi || k.th

030: devious

chapter 30: devious
location: aurora, colorado, day 1

Nothing could cheer up or make the boys feel better about themselves after that. Nothing except getting to the nearest school and getting on the Internet.

"Aurora, Colorado," Hoseok said to himself over and over again as he sat in the van, pouring over his Rand McNally maps. "Aurora, Colorado. Aurora, Colorado."

"You have to stop saying that," Namjoon hissed, and then, "Just tell me how to get to the University of Denver."

"Okay, okay, don't get your knickers in a twist." Hoseok followed the lines away from Aurora, having Namjoon and the van full of boys cut across Glendale to the university space. The weather was hot and the sun was scorching over their heads. This was not a day for casually being outside. Namjoon even had his fears that the engine would overheat.

But they needed to get to the university first. Sara knew about the van. Sara knew how to fix the van if something went wrong with it. And Sara had somehow teleported away from the van. Namjoon couldn't explain it. All they could do was email her, and try to look up more information on the World Wide Web.

The campus looked a lot like the other colleges they had been to, just with the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop. Namjoon drove around the campus until Hoseok pointed out a library. They parked and walked inside to talk to the front desk.

"Oh, no, you guys are fine!" the front desk girl said with a giggle. "We pride ourselves on being able to offer Internet access to anybody, regardless of status. You will need a parking permit, but I can get you that here. This is good for two hours, and the Internet is free use as long as the computer is open! Sound good?"

"That sounds perfect," Namjoon said with a smile. He took the parking pass and moved the van to a new spot. Then, he and Hoseok went inside, and opened a side door for the other five boys to come in.

"We have two free hours," he whispered to them. "Make yourselves inconspicuous."

They all nodded, and split up. Taehyung immediately sat down at the nearest computer and pulled up his Yahoo email. There were no new messages from Sara, so he emailed her. He made sure it was vague, just in case it was intercepted. Hey, Sara, it's V. Namjoon -- Pink Hair? -- said you disappeared when you pushed the button. We hope you're okay. Please be okay. Message back when you get this.

Jungkook surfed the Internet aimlessly until he found himself at a website that had Flash games. He waited for one to load. It was simple, with penguins bouncing on glaciers, and you had to time it just right or the penguins would fall off. Jungkook was so engrossed by the game that he forgot everything else.

Seokjin searched on some news sites to see what they were saying about the disappearance of the boys from New York City. In particular, he found an online news article from CNN talking about the new up and coming model, "Jin" Kim Seokjin, who had been set to grace the pages of Vogue. His parents didn't talk in the article, but his boss did, talking about how devastating it was and that he wished for Jin to return to the city soon. It made Jin sad. Being in front of the camera was something he still wanted to do...way more than be shipped off to basic training. "Someday," he whispered.

Jimin opened his side email and discovered an email from his 'boyfriend...' well, now his ex. They say you've disappeared, the email read. I'm so worried about you, Chimmy. I've been so heartbroken since the news hit. I haven't slept, and I haven't ate, and you know me, darling, I have to eat! The only thing I want is to be back in your arms again. I'm going to help them find you so I can bring you back to me. It made Jimin cry. He missed the man so much.

Hoseok ignored the computers entirely and went to the nonfiction section, where he found many updated Rand McNally maps. He copied down as much information as he could about the major cities they hadn't been in yet. Hoseok couldn't predict where they would go next, but he could certainly plan ahead as much as he could.

Yoongi stayed away from the computers as well. He went over to the audio section and scanned the cassette tapes, hoping they would have what he was looking for. Sure enough, they did. They only had volumes 2 and 4, but he had been wanting 4. He pulled the cassette tape down, then borrowed a tape deck and a pair of headphones from the front desk.

He sat in the chair and fast forwarded the tape until he got roughly to the third track. Then, he put the headphones on and smiled. It had been years since he had heard this. "The One I Love," a piano composition by Agust D. Only Yoongi knew that the piece was written about someone.

Only Yoongi knew the truth.

Namjoon created a Hotmail account and sent an email to Sara, hoping it would reach her as well. He made a note to come back tomorrow and see if she had replied. He did a few more searches on Metacrawler, then switched to Altavista to see if he would get any results. Nothing.

He sighed and typed in a long string of an HTML address, making sure to type in the proper Geocity to get where he wanted. The website took a moment to load, but it hadn't changed in the past four years or so. Every once in a while, Namjoon visited the site to see if anything had changed. The "buy" buttons had been removed, but other than that, no changes.

He sat back in his chair and read the letter posted at the top of the webpage. This was the only link he still had to his friend, his musician, a person he had once loved. All of their previous emails had been destroyed by his father. Now all he had was the same goodbye letter that everybody else had received, but it was still something.

"I miss you," Namjoon whispered to himself as he read the letter:

To all my fans from around the world,

I want to thank you for the years and years of music that we've shared together. I have had so much fun playing for you all. I've heard from fans from far and wide who have appreciated my albums, and I am so thankful for each and every one of you.

At this time I am immediately retiring from performing and recording. The previously announced release of Volume 6 of my music has been cancelled.

It has come to my knowledge that my identity may be revealed at some point soon. I never wished for that to happen. As I will not be safe if my identity is known, this is the only step I must take. Perhaps we will meet again, in another life, a long time from now. Until then, I hope you will keep enjoying the music I have released up until now.

Thank you for your support, and have a good life.

Sincerely,

Agust D