"Where's J?" Tae-Hyung desperately eyed every corner of the room, but specifically aimed the question towards Lisa, as if she was expected to know.

"Let's split up!" She suggested, skipping a series of questions that would only delay the process. To be frank, the brunette was unaware of why Jung-Kook was not to be seen, when he did go and even why, but she recognised that their priority shall be finding his whereabouts. And so she acted.

Their plan failed - it was ego-hurting to claim but impossible to deny. However, this failure of theirs brought inevitable consequences - their intentions of gaining access to the CCTVs were clear to the supervisor, and that only meant it will be an even rougher road towards succeeding in doing so. Lisa's chest was submerged in worry, for her immoral ways of finding the truth were not giving any yield, and she was left with only shame and regret.

With her thoughts interfering in her search, her focus was fogged, thus her eyes had to take a double look wherever to actually recognise that Jung-Kook was or was not there. Until then, the latter applied. Truth being told, she has not felt worry towards his disappearance, for he has proved he is more than capable to look after himself. Even with missing limbs, he would get out of trouble faster than Lisa could ever dream to.

However, her curiosity was impossible to overlook.

With all one's effort, he could not win a hide-and-seek game inside this bar, for it is far too small for any spot to serve as a hiding area. From one corner, given the rectangular shape, you had the entirety of the crowd in your vision. Your eyes could swallow every movement that was done. And given that Jennie and Tae-Hyung were coming from the restrooms, the hypothesis of him being there was useless.

"Outside." She muttered to herself, as she abruptly turned around, gaining a few bumps in her shoulder from incorrectly calculating her route.

The alley was filled with nothingness. It was bordering a bar, after all, there is no point in driving to a bar, for you can't drive from a bar. That would ultimately become a pain in unwanted places. Only Tae-Hyung's car obediently remained pinned to the wet ground. Tiny tears of water cried by the sobbing clouds gathered in long lines that slipped in between the pavement tiles. Staying dry was not impossible, but nor was it easy.

Lisa decided that aimlessly searching for Jung-Kook would result in nothing, and she would accomplish more after a deeper contemplation. Thus, her figure closed the distance between her and the car as much as physics allowed. And so, she began to reconsider what she has done so far. Then, it rang a bell - if he truly is outside, calling him might help. Except, she has never got the occasion to add his number to her contacts.

"Lisa?" With heavy and sloppy steps, Tae-Hyung, whose hand gripped Jennie's, approached the car on which Lisa was leaning.

"Tae-Hyung? I meant to search you, guys. Do you have Jung-Kook's number? Let's call him! If he's here, we'll hear his..."

"No need, Lisa. He already phoned me. He rushed back to the dorms, you should take Jen and go see what happened exactly."

"What about you?" Jennie, squishing his palm, asked through longing eyes.

"I'll just make sure everything is clear here and I'll follow. Don't worry, I'll see you there, okay?" His instructions ended with a promising kiss. Thus, Jennie was left with no choice but to obey him.

Lisa threw herself on the passenger's seat like a spoiled kid wishing to portray unwillingness and rebellion, then reluctantly slammed the door closed. Jennie, on the other hand, entered calmly, then firmly started the car, and followed by a last wave of "goodbye" to her other half, she drove off. The headlights lit the raindrops, making them seem like fireflies before they hit the windshield and exploded into thinner dots.

"I don't believe it." Lisa, pouty to an extent but rather more terrified, commented. Jennie, whose hands moved from time to time on the steering wheel, stole a glimpse of her friend, then directed her eyes back on the road.

"What?"

"I don't think he's back at the dorm."

"Which one do you think lied?" Jennie, after a positive conclusion, asked.

"Did you see Tae-Hyung pick up any call?"

"No..."

"Both, then." Lisa stated, then dug her head through the part-opened window to inhale some fresh air as the car pierced through it. To her disregard, a red light soon ended her refreshing meditation.

"Why's it so busy here? It's basically pouring rain." Jennie, in a moment of boredom and irritation, asked, as passers-by filled the crosswalk. It seemed that the time the red light promised would not be enough for all of them to reach the other side of the road.

"There's a huge concert nearby, that probably explains it. I can even recognise some people on our campus...and...hey! That's that lady!" Lisa's voice raised towards the end, as she unfastened her seatbelt and frantically grabbed her purse. "Jen, park the car and call me!"

"Li?! Wait! What's..." Jennie intended to question her, but before she had the occasion to do so, Lisa was long gone, joining the crowd that was crossing the street, making it even more rushed and chaotic.

*

"So pathetic." Tae-Hyung, who attempted to drown his worry with an overconfident smirk, dug his hands in his pockets while stealing worried looks at Jung-Kook. "You needed that many guys to tie JK up? That's a tad bit unfair."

"Oh, really?" A figure with a cocky tone and strange accent chained in. "Care to join him?" His hand swung a gun pointing to the chain Jung-Kook was tied to.

Meanwhile, Jung-Kook weighed his options. He flexed his muscles a bit to test the stretchiness and resistance of the material tangled around his wrists. I could probably break it, he concluded, but that would lessen my energy to fight them afterwards. Tae-Hyung looked at him understandingly. It's either the man breaks free on his own, or Tae-Hyung has to fight them all and free him, which is unlikely.

However, the younger had to be discreet, else he would make too much noise, which would bring all the attention back to him, lessening his chances of success. His head did a spin, which was a signal intended for Tae-Hyung: "distract them". The elder copied that, and immediately built a plan, a script rather, a foolproof method to keep the enemies distracted for as long as possible.

"You wanna tie me up so bad...I'm not really into that..." He teasingly spoke, as he watched their eyebrows rise to the sky like arrows shot towards a target. "And I'm sort of shy, you know...We don't even know each other."

"You surely are a character." the man stated in an ironical manner, while his tongue ran over his lips. He reeked of alcohol, strong liquor and what resembled mixed food.

"Let's get to know each other, eh? What's your name, beautiful?" Tae-Hyung dared to ask the chubbier man. He caressed his cheek and his upper lip trembled in disgust. "I'm dying to get to know you!"

"Oh, believe me," the fat man's words followed, as he grabbed his bat even tighter than before, "so am I."

Jung-Kook was flabbergasted, he twisted his wrists endlessly in an attempt to break free, but that only made his skin start to bleed, and Tae-Hyung's strategy of buying time was not gaining knowledge of who those men really are. Invested in all kinds of missions overtime, they came to forget what even could endanger them afterwards. Seeing that the younger ultimately ripped any kind of material refraining him from moving, Tae-hyung gained confidence.

"Then why don't you tell me about yourself? Your favorite color, how many kids do you want?" He continued the teasing.

"You should know me so well... We have unfinished business..."

"Brother, you're of no help!" Tae-Hyung desperately exclaimed. "What are you after us for? Are you the guy I've arrested for drug trafficking in Ul-San? Or maybe the one I beat for murdering his wife in Dae-Gu? The gangster from An-San? Be more specific."

"I'll fucking slash your throat open..."

"You look too ugly to land a wife, and you're far too fat to be a feared gangster, you can barely walk." Tae-Hyung brushed his invisible beard as a sign of ironic thinking then concluded. "Maybe...food trafficking? Some sort of fried chicken felony? Oh!" He mimmed a scared jump, "please, don't eat me, sugar man!"

"Burn the warehouse!" The fat man commanded his few loyal camarades, who remained conflicted regarding how to do so. They had lighters, surely, but no gasoline for the fire to extend in the woodless building.

Organization of this kind can only mean one thing: they are no more than a local formation, but then how come they know us?  Tae-Hyung thought while watching them struggle against their feet.

Meanwhile, Jung-Kook realized that the tie was poorly tied, and only adding pressure a few times would loosen it. Amateurs, he thought. He stretched ironically with his hands above his head, ridiculing the knock-off gangsters. Tae-Hyung noticed it, his eyebrows tilted downwards in confusion and then it hit him - they were far from being dangerous to them, just unintelligent hooligans, they were a distraction.

"Screw this, J-K, they're a diversion!"

Jung-Kook kicked a few to the side on his way to Tae-Hyung, leaving them on the wet concrete, the impact echoing in the enormous warehouse. His mind worked on what could it be they distracted them from, and when he finally concluded, he grabbed his elder colleague's forearm and ran.

"The girls!"

*

"Excuse me, miss?" Lisa begged for the woman's attention, though through the night life's deafening music, her voice had trouble piercing.

She was facing the woman's back, contemplating the idea of touching her shoulder instead of screaming even louder. The girl remembers her well - while working for the legal advice team, she was Lisa's client amongst many others. Perhaps the reason why the law student is desperately trying to reach her is because the last conversation she had with her now deceased teacher was regarding her.

"What exactly made you realize that?"

"You see, yesterday a lady came in and asked about splitting the marital estate. I suppose she was considering a divorce. She seemed sure about it - she even had her papers with her - poor soul must have researched for a long time. Then after we concluded our consultation, I explained to her the steps and she decided against it!"

"We can't always convince them, you know."

"I do know! But it's unfair! And she is not just someone, she's inherited the C-Town Factory Farm, miss Song! Her husband's eager to take over it and it's simply unfair!"

"So that's why she wants a divorce." Miss Song Jang-Mi nodded understandingly to herself.

"Wanted." Lisa corrected her, eyes rolling annoyed by the unfortunate state of the so-called lady.

"Wanted." The teacher realized. "How frustrated are you?"

"A lot. The most. The greatest amount of frustration one can feel. Entirely, even."

"Then try to persuade her." Song Jang-Mi suggested. "You have her contact information in the database, right?"

Regardless of the lack of connection between them, it felt like a last promise made to miss Jang-Mi. And Lisa's feelings were relevant - Miss Jang-Mi always adored her determination, although Lisa never heard it coming out of her teacher's mouth. Thus, she has made a goal out of finishing this unsolved business.

"I'm sorry, miss!" She called, her fingers gently tapping the woman's velvet coat that gathered droplets of rain. Lisa's forehead was submerged in water, sweat remained as drops splattered across her skin, meanwhile rain fell in drenches from her bangs to her chin, where they were met by a free fall. "Do you remember me? I'm from the Legal Advice Team! Do you have a sec?"

"I'm sorry." She muttered, struggling against her feet in an attempt to merge with the pedestrian traffic.

"No! Please, just a minute!" She implored, tugging at her sleeve.

"I can't-"

"Miss, just stay for a moment." Jennie, who pushed her way trough the crowd, immediately and shamelessly wrapped her fingers around the woman's wrists.

Her soul caged a sigh of defeat, "He sees us."

"Who?"  Lisa's question was unanswered, thus her eyes scanned thee surroundings until an idea sparkled, "Let us take an interview inside that cafe, bills on us, infamous miss Yoon Seul-Gi, inheritor of C-Town Factory!"

Lisa paved the way, and Jennie chose to remain behind the woman whose name, she learnt, was Seul-Gi. Jennie's eyes, from time to time, would steal a glance at the crowd, aimlessly searching for anybody who, even slightly, does not match the flow of the nightlife. Pointless.

"Is it all good now, miss Yoon?" Lisa aimed the question discreetly, through a big curvature of her lips meant to resemble a smile, rather uneven and unsure. Acting natural was not her strongest point, or so Jennie thinks, while concomitantly acknowledging her law-making inclination, even in this time of crisis.

"We're out of sight." She then confirmed, causing Lisa's mouth corners to drop in relaxation.

"Be sincere with me, miss Yoon. Is it your husband?" Lisa directed the question at Seul-Gi, who was redundantly fidgeting with her ring. The girl, seeing her avoid answering, began to beg. "Please, miss Yoon!"

"I'll call the boys, see where they are." Jennie excused herself. The other two women nodded acknowledging.

"Yes." Miss Yoon finally admitted, after Jennie's leaving.

"Tell me more. Let me help you!"

"Why?" The elder woman asked. "Why are you so intrigued?"

"I'm not intrigued, you're not a riddle. I'm revolted! You're a woman avoiding to divorce, and by your avoidance I understand there's something more. Thus, let me help."

The server bringing the coffees interrupted, and while Seul-Gi broke the eye contact, Lisa's eyes never left hers. She was present, willing to listen and even more to act against abuse. It was never presented to her that there was any, but the distress in the woman's every move revealed something. Also the fact that it was only mid-October and she was already wearing scarves and gloves was a rather obvious teller.

"He wasn't like that when we met..."

"Go on."

*

"She said his behavior is strange and she feels endangered, the kids also..." Lisa explained to Jennie from the passenger's seat.

"What exactly is this strange behavior consisting of?"

"Hiding stuff from her, abusing her physically. She refused to go to the police."

"That sounds like he found someone else. He probably has a mistress. It's not uncommon for dirtbags to lose interest in their wives once they give birth."

"No, Jen, think more in depth." Lisa encouraged her. "This behavior surfaced since she inherited the C-Town factory. He's definitely up to more."

"So he wants the heritage and a mistress. More money to spend on mistress."

"You're not hearing me out."

"Lis, you cannot convict him of criminal behavior for cheating on his wife"

"And beating her! That's obviously criminal conduct."

"For sure, but you're mining for more when there's nothing left to the story! What are you accusing him of? Money laundering based on domestic abuse? Homicide based on cheating?"

"You'll see I was right and then I'll tell you that I told you so."

"Unfortunately, as law practicing students we must assume everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Ei incumbit probatio  qui dicit, non qui negat."

"Fucking presumption of innocence." Lisa huffed unsatisfied. "Hey, what's this road?"

"The main one's closed because of the concert." Jennie explained. "We're going around the town. We'll be straight back to the dorms in 5."

"Did you talk to the boys?" Lisa then remembered her excusing herself earlier on the supposed call.

"No, I lied just to leave you two alone. I guessed she might not talk in my presence. After all, you're the primer law consultant."

"So you didn't get a hold of them yet?" Lisa searched her purse for her cellphone. She was eager to try calling Jung-Kook again, after all what was taking them so long?

"Don't try, I don't think there's service here."

And Jennie was entirely right. The road's margins were composed by sky-touching trees, thus even though the sun wasn't completely hid under the horizont, their branches stopped every ray, and the road was to be seen only thanks to the beam lights of their car. The constant unraveling of the road's white line was almost hypnotic:  nothing new appeared on the concrete, not even a branch. Until.

"Is that a baby?" Jennie, slightly touching the brake pedal, asked Lisa.

Lisa's eyes were rather on the surroundings more than on the baby laid in the middle of the road. A baby just can't appear out of nowhere on the road. It's absurd. There must be something. She'd seen this before.

"Don't brake! It's carjackers!" She exclaimed, as her hands hysterically dropped her phone, attempting to lock the doors. "Accelerate! Get past them!" She screamed while watching multiple masked men appear from the woods surrounding the road.

"I think I hit one, Li!" Jennie yelled mortified, hearing a loud noise from under the car.

"It's okay, keep going!" The woman encouraged her. The phone started beeping from under Lisa's seat. "Don't worry, it's just my phone."

"Are they behind us?"

"Not yet, hit the gas!" Lisa's fingers were frozen of fright, aimlessly trying to accept the call dialing her number.

"Finally, you've got service, I've been trying..."

"They're after us!" Lisa interrupted Jung-Kook, whose calm demeanor irritated the girl, and was totally unaware of their situation.

"Ok, don't worry, talk to me." His regular voice changed, he was serious and perhaps worried but attempted to remain steady for her.

"We're on the circling route, somewhere in the woods! There was a baby and then...men jumped, we're lost..." her mouth didn't know which phrase she thought of to let out first, her tongue struggling to make sense of her own thinking.

"It's alright, we're coming, lock your doors."

"Done."

"Are they behind you?"

"Yes!" She constated looking over her shoulder.

"Turn on the high beam and drive quietly. Connect this call on hands-free in the car, then share your live location with me and hide your phone in your clothes." If, by any means, the carjackers find the girls before the boys do, they need to be able to locate them. Be there a connection between the low-life gangsters that distracted them earlier and these carjackers, the latter surely hold more power in their fists than regular lawbreakers.

"They're behind us!"

"It's alright, hit the horn, be noisy! Throw things out of your car, drive a little on the wet ground near the paved road to leave a trace. Do anything in your power to not leave unnoticed!"

"J-K, who are these guys?!" Lisa desperately asked, noticing no form of registration on their car.

"It's okay, just..."

"Tell me!"

"They're carjackers, Lisa. You said so!" His information irrelevant to Lisa. He was obviously more aware of their status, and understood Lisa's need of clarifications, but a tense and rapid situation, as that was, had no time for explanation.

"Bloody hell!" She exclaimed, feeling the foreign car push theirs from behind. "Jen, keep driving."

"What are you doing?" Jennie asked, stealing a glance at Lisa, who was unfastening her seatbelt, the interruption of her attention to the road ahead making the car sway.

"Don't make any sudden movements. Open the trunk."

Lisa climbed out of her seat onto the backseat. The two seatbelts - she had them knotted around her torso, then pulled the headrests, causing the whole formation of the backseat to retract, revealing the trunk, which's vertical doors were opened wide. Her fingers moved everything around, she was looking for something either sticky or sharp. And there was every car maintenance item Tae-Hung stocked up - windshield liquid, car oil, Lisa opened them one by one and splashed them on the foreign car's windshield.

"She's throwing things at them - I believe!" Jennie, whose eyes had limited capacity from the front seat, explained over the phone for the boys.

It won them some time but obviously not enough, and running out of supplies to keep throwing worsened the situation. So she ripped the rug covering the floor of the trunk and got out the emergency wheel.

"Wipe this, filthy bastards!" Her voice forming a screeching scream as her hands released the massive SUV wheel over the approaching car, then rapidly jumping on the backseat to avoid getting hit by the shattered glass from the windshield breaking.

"Are you guys close yet?" Jennie yelled over the deafening noise. "I think we lost them for now."

"We're ahead, we see you. You can stop after we pass by you."

Jennie tremblingly complied, stopping the car on the right side of the road after seeing Jung-Kook's car pass by, approaching the foreign, destroyed car. Not even two minutes later, the two men returned with confusing news.

"They're gone."