The alarm clock was droning raucously that perturb Bryan, who wrinkled his nose and fluttered his eyes fully awake. He stood up and went to the washroom to shower. Afterward, he brushes his teeth and gargles his mouth before rinsing it.
It was already past noon. Of course, he slept a bit late since last night's concert was lengthy.
As he headed to the living room, he looked at the clock and reminded himself about the two things he has to commit. He was in conflict on which place he will show up; the party or the airport. Therefore, it leaves him to question.
"Evening at 6:00 pm. Why the exact same time?" He repeated in wonder, then he texted BTS in the group chat.
"Hey, guys. Would it be okay if we have a phone conversation soon in ten minutes?"
"Hello, Bryan. We're sorry we are not able to do it at this moment. Our photoshoot will start in about an hour. We can have a discussion at Yoongi's mansion later," Namjoon replied in text.
"Alright. See you then," Bryan said and looked up to think deeply. "I may as well meet up with her. Before that, I will buy a gift for her. I forgot her birthday three days ago..."
He sighed and assured himself that he will be there earlier than expected. Once he left the apartment, he went to the parking lot and unlocked the car door. He swooped right in and inserted the key to start driving.
The Times Square mall was only half an hour away from his home. He arrived at the side entrance where the others were going in. He walked in and checked the directory signage displayed in the middle of the hall. There, he scanned through the whole section of each department store as his eyes were set on the third last bottom; Miniso.
"Perfect," he said, plastering an excited grin, and marched off to the elevator.
Concurrently, BTS was inside the building, halfway finish their photoshoot. The stylists were modifying the accessories and shoes that will match the members' outfits and hair. They picked the ones that coordinated with the contrasting colors as they viewed the hard copy list.
On the other hand, Jimin and Jungkook were sitting in each of their makeup stations. Their minds were still lingering on last night's concert and how the fangirls were frantically reaching out to grab their legs.
"It's funny, but scary at the same time," Jungkook chuckled and continued on. "I admit, I do miss it a lot."
"There's this one girl who was raising her sign-up as 'Kiss Me, Kiss Me!' I blew a kiss right in her direction and she pretended to faint. Classic," Jimin laughed.
"Oh, gosh. I can imagine the same thing," Jungkook grinned, then turned his gaze over to their friend. "What about you, hyung?"
Taehyung didn't hear him. He was scrolling down through his messages as his head was lowered in solemnity.
Jungkook stared at him and called out quietly. "Hyung..."
Taehyung whipped his head up and zoomed around in puzzlement. "Hm?"
"What was your reaction to our fans?" Jimin asked.
"It's cool, I guess," Taehyung shrugged and kept ogling on his phone. He started typing a message to someone, much to their annoyance.
Jungkook breathed his nostrils impassively and turned away.
"Tae, it's better if you pay attention to what we're saying. I know you have other things going on in your mind lately, but you could tell us..." Jimin stated curiously.
"I'm fine. I just need some alone time," he said monotonously.
"I know you. Whenever you're frowning, I can tell that something is wrong," Jimin nodding observantly.
"As expected, my dear soulmate. Besides, this is none of your concern," Taehyung snorted and continued to text the person without making eye contact.
Jimin paused for a moment and slowly leaned forward to peek over his shoulder.
Taehyung widened his eyes in panic and covered his phone on his chest. "Chim!"
Jimin gaped his mouth until he formed a playful smirk. "Ah... It's a girl. She has a nickname."
"I told you, it's none of your concern!" Taehyung said agitatedly.
Jungkook immediately snatched his phone right out of his hand and bolted from his chair. He was running to the corner and checked.
"Kookie!" Taehyung warned in alarm and followed. "Give it back."
"Hold on..." Jungkook held his hand with an amused grin. He started to knit his eyebrows in confusion. "Whose number is this?"
Taehyung narrowed his eyes slightly and answered with his gritted teeth. "My long-time friend."
"Ah. I see. I want to meet her in person," Jungkook said in interest.
"Ugh. You can't. She's not answering..." Taehyung rolled his eyes and took his phone from him.
"What's her name?" Jimin queried keenly in thought.
Taehyung glanced at him in startlement and scratched his cheek nervously. "It's uh... I honestly forgot her name."
Jimin squinted his eyes warily, whereas Jungkook gestured his arms out in disregard and returned back to his spot.
The photographer made a tilt-shift steadily and gave a thumbs up to the hyungs, saying. "Nice, nice, nice! Great angle! Okay, next is the maknaes!"
The three of them were standing next to each other and began to pose. The flashing lights on the camera made several clicking noises and the photographer stepped back to view the pictures.
He noticed one of the members kept slightly frowning in which he briefly advised. "Um, Taehyung. I want you to smile a little bit more, a'ight?"
Taehyung blinked a few times and asked blankly. "Sorry, was I not?"
"Hmm," he nodded with his lips pursed.
"I'll try," Taehyung noted.
"Don't try. Just feel it. Feel positive energy surrounding you," the photographer said enthusiastically.
Jimin and Jungkook were looking at him in the corner of their eyes in speculation. Both of them glanced back at the camera once again to pose differently.
Taehyung made two peace hand signs, whereas the other two tilted their heads from left to right, giving out their sophisticated looks.
Once the camera clicks, the photographer grinned happily and clapped hastily. "Woohoo! Alright. Can I have a whole group together now?"
Namjoon and the others made their way between them with their hands shoved in their pocket pants.
"Yes, yes. Squeeze right in there naturally and..." the photographer trailed off of his words and flashed the camera in one simple click. He stepped back and smiled. "Fabulous! You're all done! Thank you!"
BTS bowed to him where the staff was tidying the materials and articles.
Elsewhere in the road, the traffic is making him wait for a couple of minutes. Bryan kept honking the drivers to move along until he decided to make a U-turn and leave the lane. He took a short-cut and increased his speed on the highway.
"Shit. It's 5:35 pm. Hopefully, I made it there in ten minutes..." he thought determinedly in mind.
He looked at the gift bag with a white ribbon on top and figured that the cameras, customized coffee mug, and scented candles would be the best gift for her.
Meanwhile, in Myeongdong street, a few people were lining up to order food from the cart, truck, and tent since there is a live show being held. Valerie was chewing Twigim and Hweori Gamja; deep-fried rolls and a tornado potato.
They were all assorted in the hinged foam container she was holding. Surely, she will never get tired of her favorite snacks. She wanted to have lunch with her new friend, but he was busy. Instead, she decided to plan to buy leftovers for him.
A sudden camera snapping noise resounded in close approximate meters from the right. She became alarmed as she took a brief glance and found the man in his black jumpsuit, leaving his own hiding.
"Hey!!" She shouted angrily and began to sprint, dropping the container on the ground.
The masked person was running away and shoving people off to the side. Luckily, the streets were half empty and Valerie kept chasing the man swiftly without stopping.
"Come back here!" She called out boldly. Then, she hopped on every rounded table before she made a high jump and tackled him with punches.
"Argh..." The man groaned dizzily as his head started to spin.
Valerie was beginning to hesitate, but she went on further to reveal his mask. She demanded him sharply. "Why were you taking pictures?! Huh?! Tell me! Who are you to do that to someone?!"
The man slowly laughed and gave her a bunch of pictures that indicated her friends and the rest of the events that happened, much to her suspicion.
Her eyes were scanning from left to right briskly and questioned him again. "You didn't answer me. What are these pictures? Why are they taken?"
"It's all part of the plan," the man answered simply, but in a calming tone with his hollowed eyes gazing up at her.
FLASHBACK:
He glanced in her direction as his expression began to change, warning her. "Just you wait..."
Valerie raised her eyebrows in puzzlement and said. "No thanks... You deserve to rot in jail."
"No, no Val. You got it all wrong. Trust me, what you see is what you get. Do not do it! Let go of me!" Kai yelled frantically as he tried to break free from the police.
END OF FLASHBACK
Valerie went back to the present state and let go of the guy's collar shirt. She backed away and watched the man scrammed off quickly.
"All part of the plan?" She repeated the words that were wheeling in her mind. "EXO were just used as pawns to destroy them? Primarily, how come the others didn't come to the Jeju Island trip with us or even send a recruiting team to help BTS back in the factory building? I don't get it... This whole entire thing is a farce. If Kai and the rest of the guys are part of this, was I one too?"
During that time, Bryan was rushing past to the entrance in a haste and he breathed out in relief, whilst holding onto the gift bag.
"It's 5:50 pm. Good. She should be here by now," he said contentedly and sat in the empty seat next to the family near him.
Back in Myeongdong street, she turned to the left and stopped at the lights. When she was about to cross the desolated street by herself, she saw the billboard of BTS releasing their new album; BE. To her surprise, she couldn't help but smile proudly for their comeback.
Even though her mind was starting to wander across the photos, the man's words were haunting her for some reason. A premonition of some sort in which she was beginning to feel nervous about.
She pulls out her phone and calls her friend, but he hasn't picked up yet. Her heart was beating rapidly from her chest and was waiting for him to answer. "Come on, come on... Bryan, please pick up..."
The crosswalk signal popped up and she was marching off.
A huge car was zooming close by with a long beep, whereas Valerie widened her eyes and gasped in appall.
....
....
....
....
....
Everything went black for just about a few split seconds and a loud scream echoed throughout the area.
Later on, in a couple of minutes, there were others circling the person's unconscious body and the blood was seeping into a pool. The 9/11 emergency teams came to the scene and examined the condition. They were checking her pulse rate and set up the ambulance bed immediately.
Inside the Incheon International Airport, Bryan was rubbing his hands rapidly and checked the time. He sighed anxiously in thought. "What's taking her so long? She said she will be here..."
He noticed a flower vase had fallen onto the floor with a crashing sound, making others gasp in shock. The clock struck at 6:00 pm, ringing with a few echoes.
"Unless this was all a trick!" His eyes widened dreadfully in realization.
Presently in Yoongi's mansion, each of the members was currently celebrating their success. It was only the seven of them while they were on Vlive and chatting with their fans.
"Cheers!" Namjoon exclaimed as they all replied in unison.
Precipitously, they heard a picture frame glass break onto the floor, startling them in befuddlement.
....
The room was dim-lighted and he listened to the live news resonating in the background.
"Sir, it's done..." a male voice said formally.
"Good. Make sure nobody ever finds out. Do you understand?" he instructed sternly.
"Yes sir," the male replied back and ended their call.
"Such a stubborn lady. You just don't know when to quit, do you? This is where you meet your end. Pity... I was starting to grow very fond of you, Ms. Nown. Guess you had to ask for the devil to come and collect your price..." Mr. Si-hyuk said, smirking and adjusting his eyeglasses that twinkled his gratifying stare.
"Evil will always win."334Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6GN0dWXEA
