I keep hearing Haknyeon's scream and distressed "Help me!" as it repeats over and over in my head, haunting me to the core. I toss glances toward the door. Anxiety and trepidation control my body right now.

Finally, the door flies open and a tall man with messy, wavy brunette hair curls enters. I can see that there's an urgent concern written in his facial expression. He closes and locks the door behind him and then comes over to where I am sitting on the couch, completely mortified. He sits down next to me.

"Okay, Ava, talk to me," he says.

"I had no idea what I was getting into and how dangerous a response to it really was! Who would do such a thing, Shinwonie-oppa?" I blurt out.

Shinwon looks at me with bewilderment. "What do you mean? What's happened?"

I look at him through shaky, watery eyes. It's a struggle just to hold back my tears, but I somehow am managing to do it. "Someone kidnapped Ju Haknyeon, Shinwonie. I don't know who did it, why or what to do?"

Shinwon puts a hand on my shoulder. "Haknyeon? From The Boyz?"

I nod.

"Your bias, Ju Haknyeon?"

I nod again.

"Yeah, who would do such a thing?" Shinwon taps his chin in thought. "Does he have any enemies? Either in or out of K-Pop."

I shake my head. "He's super friendly, nice and personable to everyone he meets. You know that."

Shinwon nods. "Right. No one can hate him. There's no way. What about you? Could it potentially be jealousy or revenge on your part? Like from someone you know or have met online or interacted with?"

I shake my head. "I can't think of anyone. I'm thinking of everything. Childhood, enemies, a fellow insane Jusadan, rival fandoms, online jealous haters, potentially Dark Web hires...but I can't figure out any names."

Shinwon gives a rapid scan of the room. I can see the gears and wheels turning in his head. Finally, his attention returns to me. "So, there is -- you left a response for them?"

"I was at the local library wanting to check out some more books. You know how much I enjoy Patterson's works."

I pause. Shinwon nods.

"Well, there was a book that I'd looked at previously. I had too many other books to get it at the time. So I left it. This time, I was gonna get it, but there was this note folded up. You know how people can sometimes leave their bookmarks or makeshift-paper ones. I thought it was that. Still I was curious."

Shinwon nods.

"There was a short note on it. It said, 'I know your cute little secret.' So, I'm still thinking that it's just harmless -- a mistake or experiment. Something fun. I scribbled a response back."

"What'd you say?" I can tell he is curious.

"I just said, 'Yeah, right. What is it then, Mysterious Jokester?'"

Shinwon gasps.

I throw my hands up to my face and cover my eyes. "Then came the call and the scream and the horror."