"Wait a minute. Are you saying that this other girl is a con artist?" Jungkook queried.
"She could be... Possibly, and I'm betting on this one," Hoseok said.
"Maybe she has a sister," Jin guessed.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Yoongi furrowed his eyebrows morbidly and thought. "She never opened up to us about her family or her friends."
"Except us," Hoseok mentioned.
"Somewhat, but... she's a closed book, I can tell you that," Yoongi stated.
"I suggest we should have another meeting with the real Hyun Aera about this because honestly, this is getting me adrift," Namjoon pointed out.
"No need for that. We've already settled that matter at hand," Bryan countered.
"He's right. What's important is we focus on who's this other 'Hyun Aera.' There are a lot of possibilities that she may be a confidant or a foe, so Taehyung... could you tell us more about those text messages? It seems that you know her a little better than us," Sally inquired.
"Sure," he asserted and opened his phone by showing them the comparison between the letters and the symbols. "The way they respond is almost identical, but one of them barely uses emoji at the end of their sentences. They do it one after another and sometimes use abbreviations to express their laughter, frustration, and outrage. Judging by their clothes and personalities, it's feasible that these two could pass as twins."
"Hah! See?! I'm not the only one who thinks that way!" Jin emphasized with his fingers snapping.
"Yeah, but we don't know how they act in a certain way..." Jungkook stated.
"What about their habits?" Jimin curled his eyebrows oddly.
"I think I can give you a few pointers," Bryan insisted and tuned in briefly. "The real Hyun Aera is an Arts leader in Seoul High. She was very straightforward and easygoing when she confirmed to us about who she is. She told us that she has no idea who the impersonator is and she's quite organic since the three of us saw her eating just a whole plain toasted bread with a black coffee."
"By 'organic,' you mean she's a vegan?" Jungkook wondered.
"Yep, and she doesn't use hand gestures to explain things," Sally added in.
"Ah, so the two Hyun Aeras are opposite to each other, then," Namjoon thought.
"Not exactly," Taehyung spoke.
"Huh?" Everyone became puzzled in unison.
"You see, these two ladies both have similarities, despite the fact that they may have bits of differences when it comes to food and beverages. If Hyun Aera prefers black coffee, then the other one prefers regular coffee. The real one is more of a right hand, whereas the girl is more of a left-hand. Therefore, the best way to find her is to attract her to something that she truly desires," he explained.
"And what is it?" Sally asked.
Taehyung closed his eyes until he reopened them with an exhilarating smirk. "A song."
"Like what? Can you be specific with the genre?" Jungkook went bemused.
"Classic," he answered.
"Ah, so she's into like ballads, contemporary ones?" Hoseok's astounded expression became broad.
"I love those too," Jin said.
"What's the plan?" Namjoon queried.
"We should set up a trap to lure her in first, so that way we can start catechizing her," Bryan uttered tactfully.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that, because we don't know what this person is capable of doing. Deliberately, we shouldn't underestimate her," Taehyung stated.
"So?! This is a good start to finding another clue that may resolve the issue. Right, Sally?" Bryan referred with a quick peek.
"Yes, if you tell us more about the strategies that you have in mind, we'll surely come to a consensus, V," Sally said.
"I can't argue with that," Hoseok piped in.
"And it will make us happy," Yoongi noted.
"Hmm, so..." Sally paused a bit as she leaned over to the right while staring at Taehyung for approval.
He looked back at her in thought until he sighed in debacle. "Alright, alright..."
"Yay!!!" She clapped her hands cutely and squeezed both of his shoulders tightly.
"But under my condition," he added in.
"Ugh, and what's that?" Ava grumbled impatiently.
"Actually, there's none. I was only kidding," Taehyung grinned and chuckled right after he was nudged to the side by her hand.
"Jeez..." she rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Anyone else want to oppose it?" Namjoon asked as he saw his friends shaking their heads in response.
"Well, looks like we're ready to go, then, yah?" Jin stated.
"Yup, we are," Jungkook nodded firmly, including Jimin.
Though, he gave a sneaky glance at his best friend, who was a little hesitant at first. Somehow, he noticed it more than once, even at their comeback photoshoots and party.
...
"You know, you've been very quiet, even right after taking our pictures. Tell us what's the update between you and that girl," Jungkook patted lightly on his hyung's right shoulder with a smug look.
"We're just virtual friends, who happen to be reciprocal in games," he pointed out.
"I don't believe that. You can keep denying it, but the way you set your focus on her says a lot," Jungkook said and began to warble humorously behind his ear.
"'Cause the window
Opened one time with you and me
Now my forever's falling down
Wondering if you'd want me now...'"
Taehyung's lips curved into a smile and stifled laughter. "Stop it. It's nothing like that."
"Hmm, sure," he sniggered.
"What was her username again?" Jimin asked.
"I think it's named after Sapfirenix81. I forgot because she keeps changing it. Her real name is clandestine," Taehyung replied.
"What do you mean by that? Is that her name or...?" Jimin became slightly confused, trailing off of his words.
"No, it means that her name is kept 'secret,' like she's not comfortable telling it to me just yet," Taehyung described concisely.
"Ah, so she is very enigmatic. Who could she be? I've got no choice, but to make you spill the beans," Jungkook thought in surprise and slowly grinned teasingly.
"Hey! I told you, I don't know, alright! There's two girls and other guys in the group chat I talked to while playing PUBG, so it's kind of hard for me to tell specifically," Taehyung chuckled as he kept avoiding him tickling on the sides.
Jimin was also demurred about his words when he was looking at him doggedly.
...
The music was raucous that made everyone dance and drink with their glasses clinking noisily as they kept cheering each other to pass and win the challenges. Others end up bleating after losing the rounds in a dud, so they had no choice but to do the dare that they were told.
Discordantly, Taehyung continued to play the virtual game, PUBG, on his phone as usual. Moreover, his eyes were also too immersed in the group chat with his friends.
"I'll go over to the side and take cover," the girl texted.
"Okay, thanks," Lionsden24 replied.
His thumbs twiddle hastily on the screen until a triumphant noise blared out, which he was left open-mouthed.
"Yes!" He pumped his right fist sportively, then went on to join the next set of rounds.
In just a fleet of motion, Jimin flopped on the couch and gave him a glass of beer, asking. "Want a drink?"
"No thanks," Taehyung refused as he was very eager to win the battle, much to Jimin's curiosity.
"So who's the girl?"
"What girl?"
"Don't play dumb. I know you're interested in someone," Jimin stated forwardly.
"Yeah and it's defeating the boss," Taehyung corrected.
"Please, do you really think I'd buy that again? We're best friends. You can tell me," Jimin urged him.
"She's just someone I just met recently," he said.
"When?"
"Ten months ago," Taehyung answered and pushed the glass away from him.
"Tae, what are you doing?" Jimin asked annoyingly and stood on his feet.
Taehyung got startled when he looked up, unfazed. "Chim, I'm playing a game."
"During my party?" Jimin pointed out, raising his eyebrows weirdly at him.
"Yes. Plus, the girl I'm friends with is coming here," Taehyung said smilingly.
"What's her real name?" Jimin questioned blankly.
"That's what I'm about to find out," Taehyung grinned.
Jimin furrowed his eyes in annoyance and scolded calmly. "Tae, you can't be inviting strangers to the party, including mine. What if she's fake? What if the person is a murderer? You never know how these things can occur. Remember, you cannot trust anything or anyone online unless you meet them for real."
"Babe, have a drink with us!" Chia gestured her hand while she was sitting beside her girl-friends.
"In a second!" Jimin responded back loudly, then turned back to face Taehyung, who stood up from the couch.
"I'm heading out to the backyard," he said.
"Don't forget what I told you," Jimin pointed out.
Taehyung grumbled, waving his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I got it."
Jimin took a watchful glance at his direction and became even more aware of what his best friend is doing. There were questions that were filling in his head and trying to grasp onto why he was so absorbed into her.
...
"We can trace her phone number through this software and that way, we can identify who she is," Taehyung instructed briefly.
"That's what I was thinking too. Anyway, I'll type it in my computer," Bryan said as he followed the numbers before the scanning process had begun.
"Great! This will do it!" Sally said blithely, whereas Yoongi was squeezing her hands consolingly.
"I'll be the one to drive towards her location," Jin volunteered.
"I'll control the GPS," Jungkook said.
"We should have another car for backup in order to corner her, just in case," Hoseok suggested.
"Of course," Ava nodded.
As for Jimin, he was pertaining to thought skeptically and started to harbor his own doubt. He set his gaze upon his best friend that led him to conclusion.
"Tae... is there something that you know of already?"
In an instant, the background music resonated on the television screen with the lady reporter, voicing out the concerns of the possible danger.
"For tonight's recent news, a suspicious yellow sign of light shooting across the sky, catching many people's attention. The yellow sign indicates a Vendetta group has arrived to eliminate the citizens..."
"What?! Is that true?!" Hoseok went flabbergasted.
"That's very far-fetched, though," Jungkook said.
"It certainly is veracious," Namjoon noted.
"The name of the vendetta is innominate. Police and other law enforcement have warned every city to limit the citizens to stay outside before 8:00 pm and no requests are allowed to extend the curfew until such further notice."
"Just who are they?" Ava became incredulous.
"I haven't heard that in a while," Bryan thought.
Taehyung mumbled under his breath, crossing his arms in observation. "I don't know, but I do find it settling."
...
Meanwhile in his own office, Si-hyuk, on the other hand, was half-smirking in pique as he continued to stare at the emblem on his led screen, then spoke to his assistant. "I suggest you do an investigation on this vendetta squad and gather as much as details without any exception. Got it?"
"Yes, sir," he bowed down and scrolled the tabs on her digital pad quietly.
He folded his hands and leaned in further. "Another friend or foe... Which one are you?"
...
It was an early dawn and the boss was chuckling in amusement as he walked along with his comrade, who was feeling disgruntled at that moment.
"Mr. Cha, why are you so serious? You know that this could benefit all of us," he said.
Eunwoo sighed and informed him. "It doesn't matter. She's still not in a good condition."
"I know, I know. You worry too much, eh? What could possibly go wrong? I won't do it again like I did a year ago," the boss reminded nonchalantly.
"You have to be gentle with her when it comes to training. If you ever try hurting her, I will do something to you," Eunwoo advised sharply in a heed of warning.
"Trust me, I'll take good care of her," he said, while Eunwoo shot icy stares at him.
Then, the two of them were heading towards the top of the hill, arriving on the scene where he noticed his girlfriend standing and facing the view of the city landscape.
The boss was staring at the view of the landscape and smirked in fulfillment. "You've finally given in... Welcome back, Ms. Valerie Nown..."
"I was hoping you would say that..." she said, turning around slowly to reveal herself, much to his astonishment.
The sunlight was shining luminously throughout their surroundings and the first thing he saw was the serenity she held in her eyes. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclBJfU344r
