One morning, a young man with a maroon sweater was sitting on the couch, playing his favorite FIFA soccer game, using a PS3 controller. He concentrated on the player to kick the ball straight to the net but missed his shot. He groaned slightly, then his phone suddenly rang as he paused the game and swiped the answer icon on the screen.
"What's up?" He greeted him monotonously.
"Dude! You're ten minutes late!" His friend raised his voice in irritation.
"Chillax. There's still time, Lance," he snorted out with a chuckle.
"No. Unless you have some girl with you. Who is it?" Lance taunted slyly.
"Nobody and for your information, I'm dating Ava. My parents are already at work, so I'll meet you there soon," he said, yawning as he stretched out of the couch.
"You better be, Bryan. I'll kick your ass if you don't show up," Lance reminded jokingly.
"Pfft. Yeah, right," Bryan said, smirking as soon as the phone call ended.
A few minutes later on the way there, he met up with some of his friends at the skateboarding park area in bright sunny weather. He exchanged fist-bumping with each of them, whereas he got patted on the shoulder by Lance's grip.
"So, are you ready for practice?" He asked grinning excitedly.
"More than ready. Let's do this," Bryan nodded coolly as the two of them grabbed their long-boards and made all the way to the top of the ramp that is four to eight feet.
Then, they've counted up to three seconds once they stepped their foot on their boards before diving down into the bottom and reversing back and forth with all the shifting movements.
Afterward, Bryan decided to rest on the bench while drinking a cold, iced tea from the bottle. He was watching Lance and the other guys skate freestyle until he received a call. Holding up his phone to read his other friend's name, he quickly answered.
"Yeah? Where are you?" He asked calmly and squinted his eyes when he covered them with his left hand away from the sun that was hitting across his face. "Okay."
He agreed and ended the chat as he shoved his phone inside his pocket before zipping it closed. Sighing to himself, he waved goodbye at Lance and the others with his hand up in the air, taking his skateboard with him.
As soon as he arrived behind the baseball bleachers, he glanced around the corner and saw her standing in surprise.
"Valerie..." he called out softly, making her turn around to face him.
"I see you've had fun at the practice," she said, smiling profoundly at him.
"What are you doing here? I mean, our upcoming trip doesn't start until next week. What's the sudden rush?" Bryan asked curiously.
"Listen, I'm working on a private case about the New Year's Eve party incident that happened a few years ago," Valerie said quietly.
"Why? You don't have a certificate or a degree. Surely, you are going overboard with this, aren't you?" Bryan raised an eyebrow in bewilderment.
"Call me insane if you want but this is important for them," Valerie pointed out.
"Is it? Whatever's happened back then, that's done. You cannot change their mistakes," Bryan stared at her dully and continued on. "It's none of your business, so move on from them, will you?"
He turned his back and began to walk away from her with his head shaking in disbelief.
"But this is the only chance to reunite them. They were happy with each other," Valerie protested.
Bryan began to laugh sarcastically, saying. "Of course they were like those moments where they fought over the dance moves and which parts they want to sing or the other ones where a few of them are secretly befriending some of their rival groups? Oh yeah. Such fun times, eh?" He plastered a fake smile, then faltered instantly into a flat, boring expression and continued to walk further.
Valerie frowned and gently placed her hand on his right shoulder desperately. "Wait..."
Bryan rolled his eyes with a tired sigh and asked after facing her again. "What?"
She pressed her lips together into a thin line and said. "I will offer a deal. But you got to promise me, you will help me solve this case."
"Alright, go on," Bryan furrowed his eyebrows attentively.
"Since you and my friend Ava have been dealing with a lot of angst and other issues, I will help you plan the best date that you guys will ever have and make sure you earn a spot on your soccer tryouts. How does that sound?" Valerie asked encouragingly.
Bryan tilted his head sideways, thinking deeply, and said coldly. "Hmm... No..."
Valerie opened her mouth but sulked silently as she gave up in response. "Fine. I'm leaving."
"Kidding!" Bryan grinned jokingly while he teased her on her sides.
"Ugh," she rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.
"Hey. You don't need to offer me a deal. I can handle my life pretty well, but I'm just reminding you that it's impossible to bring them back as a group," Bryan explained honestly.
"I know. However, this will help them figure out themselves as friends," Valerie nodded in understanding.
Bryan stares at her in peculiar and questioning. "Why do you care so much about them?"
Valerie looked at him to open her mouth to answer, but her phone was vibrating in her left hand, which caught her attention to read the messages on the screen.
"Hey, girl. Guess what? I'm officially dating a senior captain of the basketball team! He's such an amazing person and wants to face-time with me since we are starting in the first phase of our long-distant relationship," Sally texted with sad and crying faces.
"I'm on the cover of New York's Fashion magazine, but one of my friends made up a ridiculous rumor about me that I was involved with taking drugs and my boss found out about it!" Ava said with angry and shocked faces.
"What happened?" Bryan asked worriedly.
"Friends. Problems. The Usual," Valerie muttered. "One tells me the good news and the other tells me the bad one."
"Ah, yes. Ava just texted me saying that her friend Mariel is a two-faced bitch," Bryan chuckled in amusement as he started to twiddle his thumbs to reply back to her text.
"Duh. I didn't say I warned her. She could've stayed in the right bubble," Valerie said firmly.
"You can't expect her to isolate herself from everybody at work. Humans will not be able to survive without any social interactions," Bryan stated.
"It depends on the situation," Valerie pointed out.
"Hmm. Anyway, just let her be and I'll help you with this private case that you are so willing to work for," Bryan said dramatically.
"Don't you want to help your girlfriend out first?" Valerie reminded, raising her eyebrow blankly.
"I will meet up with her at her house later in the evening," Bryan noted calmly.
"That's good and thanks. Come on, let's head to the library first. I need to return the books," Valerie sighed and turned her back.
"Such a nerdy," Bryan snorted.
"Shut up," she pouted and looked away, then the two started to walk on the side before crossing the street.
The following week came when they were both dropped off by the airport and said goodbye to their parents and friends. Valerie's mom hugged her so tightly and let go of her gently.
"Please, be careful on the way there. Always stay with Bryan at all times," she informed sternly.
"Don't forget to send us a message if you need anything," her dad reminded as he patted lightly on top of her head.
"I will, mom and dad. Don't worry, I'll be fine and he is helping me after all," Valerie smiled wholeheartedly.
"Mr. and Mrs. Nown, I assure you that she is in good hands. I won't let her out of my sight," Bryan beamed.
"Don't be flirting with each other," Ava pursed her lips and glinted her eyes sharply.
"Hahaha! Relax. He's all yours," Valerie burst out laughing with tears falling out and embracing her.
"Yeah, babe. You're the key to my heart," Bryan said, smirking amorously and pecked Ava's right cheek in which she giggled back at him.
"We'll be back soon," Valerie said, smiling warmly at them.
"No shit. It's not like you're going to live there. It's just a vacation. Okay, go before I start getting emotional here," Ava avoided eye contact, which made the others laugh at her silliness.
Valerie shook her head and wrapped her arms around Sally, who returned the embrace as well.
"Don't forget to facetime and text me if you see him," she mentioned.
"No problem. I'll talk to him when I get the chance," Valerie smiled genuinely.
"Alright. Shall we head on? We don't want to miss the flight. We'll keep in touch," Bryan chuckled with a curt nod at their loved ones.
"Goodbye!" Valerie said, waving at them as they both turned their heads around and made their way to the corridor boarding.
Once they were inside the plane that night, the two of them had light dinner on their mini-tables, placing their neck pillows upon their shoulders to rest.
"You haven't answered my question before," Bryan asked softly.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Valerie became puzzled.
"Jeez. You and I both know that those guys mean a lot to you. Tell me who they are," Bryan insisted, smirking while looking at the corner of his eyes.
Valerie gazed off at the mini-screen and spoke faintly in thought. "They were everything that anyone can hope for. They were the ones who showed us the meaning of what it's like to live a dream, what it's like to appreciate the precious moments with someone, and what it's like to belong with..."
"Hm. I see," Bryan slowly nodded and got startled when he heard a text tone from his phone. He read it and was astonished. "Holy shit. Got7 released their new song and music video."
"Great..." she murmured scornfully in response.
"What's wrong with them? They're literally the best group so far," Bryan stated.
Valerie answered simply. "They're friends with EXO, who are also remarkable as well. Not to forget that their album became best-selling in over ten million views."
"Is that bad?" Bryan questioned.
"I don't know. That is what we are trying to find out," Valerie said determinedly and closed her eyes for a moment before dozing off.
Fourteen hours had passed since they were traveling from New York to South Korea. Once they've finally arrived at their destination, Valerie and Bryan settle in one of the decent apartments that they rented and begin to discuss the issue. They removed the black clothing off of the whiteboard and started writing the list.
"Okay. Here are the questions that we need to clarify and gather information about what happened to BTS, how and why they suddenly disbanded after that New Year's incident," Valerie tucked her hand under her chin, whereas Bryan was nodding in agreement.
"Right. Oh, we should try contacting the BigHit's CEO for more details," Bryan added.
"Absolutely," Valerie snapped her finger and wrote his name down.
"Are we actually going to call him now? How do we find his number?" Bryan asked curiously.
"I'll ask Sally. She used to work part-time with the former group back then," Valerie answered with a smirk, much to Bryan's astounding.
Later on, both of them meet up with the Ceo at the cafe while they continue to further their conversation. They noticed that he was looking serious and glum, so they started to wonder.
"Mr. Si-hyuk, can you tell us what separated them? They can't just part their ways just because of the little fights or arguments they had. I understand how confidential this is for you, but I need some answers. I'm sure you care about them as much as I do," Valerie said.
Mr. Si-hyuk folded his hands together on the rounded-table and cleared his throat, saying. "I'm still happy with the newest group TXT that recently debuted in our company. Though I suppose I don't mind telling you this. What really happened to BTS is something that I do not want to go back to. If only I can prevent them from doing something terrible than what the others did."
"Why not?" Bryan asked in concern when he and Valerie were leaning in closely.
Mr. Si-hyuk stared at them and answered with a silent whisper, making their eyes widen in horror.
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