By Zephyria 
If Seong Hae-jun had truly been kidnapped, the situation became even more complicated. What was the reason for the kidnapping? Was the goal to harm Seong Hae-jun, or was he being held as a hostage to demand something from someone else? If so, who was the target? There were so many more things to consider.
“But who, and why, would kidnap Hae-jun…?”
Lee Beom furrowed his brow at Ban Pyo-ran’s small question. Then his eyes met those of the other Four Heavenly Kings. It seemed they were all thinking of the same person.
Someone who held a grudge and wanted revenge.
The most likely culprit in the current situation was the third-year student, Park Se-yong.
He had recently come to their classroom and confronted the Four Heavenly Kings, and as a result, he had received severe disciplinary action. He must have harbored resentment towards the Four Heavenly Kings. Moreover, he wasn’t the type to let things go. Such a person had pointed directly at Seong Hae-jun and made suspicious remarks, like “It seems you’ve come to the right place.”
As everyone’s faces darkened, Ban Seo-yi slowly raised her hand. In her other hand, she still tightly clutched the tissue Ban Pyo-ran had given her to wipe her tears.
“If… if it’s a kidnapping, I have a rough idea of where he might be.”
“What?”
At Ban Seo-yi’s words, Seong Hae-min rushed forward. Min Si-hu, not hiding his wary expression, asked, “Even if you don’t know who did it? How can you have an idea?”
“No matter who did it, the place they’d take him is obvious.”
Everyone’s attention was drawn to Ban Seo-yi’s answer. Their faces were filled with the question of where that place was. The Four Heavenly Kings looked at Lee Beom for his opinion, and Lee Beom, after some thought, slowly nodded. As soon as the tacit permission was given, Ban Seo-yi immediately opened her mouth and pointed to several locations.
The underground parking lot, a secluded park restroom, a derelict lot undergoing redevelopment, the back road of a nearby mountain, a discarded container by the roadside, a warehouse, a closed construction site…
These were places far from residential areas and sparsely populated, ideal for delinquent youths to set up their dens and commit various illegal acts. Ban Pyo-ran and Kim Yi-dam exclaimed why they hadn’t thought of this, nodding as if entranced.
Lee Beom, who alone did not let go of his suspicion, glared at Ban Seo-yi. Ban Seo-yi blinked with difficulty, her eyes swollen and raw.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Her certainty made it even harder to believe. Lee Beom sharpened his suspicions.
“How do you know? Why should I believe you?”
As he interrogated her coldly, Ban Seo-yi only mumbled and hesitated. Do Yun-hyeok stepped forward to stop Lee Beom.
“Calm down. You yourself said we were allies.”
“…….”
Lee Beom clearly remembered saying they had formed a temporary alliance, so he relented at Do Yun-hyeok’s valid point. While Lee Beom was silent for a moment, Do Yun-hyeok checked on Ban Seo-yi’s condition. Ban Seo-yi ran her hands through her hair with trembling fingers. Her long hair was tangled in a mess.
Ban Pyo-ran approached Ban Seo-yi with a worried expression and supported her. Ban Seo-yi, stumbling, leaned her upper body sideways without even knowing who she was leaning on. Her complexion was pale.
“I… I’m scared. Something must have happened, right?”
Ban Seo-yi’s voice trembled miserably, making Do Yun-hyeok’s earlier attempt to calm her seem in vain. She suddenly sat up straight and desperately grabbed Do Yun-hyeok, spewing a jumble of words that no one present could understand. Her rapid, incomprehensible speech shot towards the floor.
“What if this was the last time? What if I missed the only chance I was given? What if I’m trapped forever? Or what if this is really the end? What if I….”
“Calm down. Ban Seo-yi.”
Do Yun-hyeok snapped his fingers in front of Ban Seo-yi’s eyes. Her mumbling words momentarily stopped. Do Yun-hyeok calmly regained control of the situation.
“Snap out of it. I don’t know what happened, but right now, focus only on how to find Hae-jun. That’s why we’re gathered, right?”
Do Yun-hyeok glanced at Lee Beom for confirmation. Their eyes met, his as black as go stones. Everyone watched them, hiding their tension. After a moment of a staring contest with Do Yun-hyeok, Lee Beom finally looked away as if conceding. Do Yun-hyeok patted Ban Seo-yi’s shoulder. Ban Seo-yi’s trembling gradually subsided. Ban Pyo-ran supported Ban Seo-yi, who was struggling to breathe.
What was important now was Seong Hae-jun. This was not the time to fight over trivial matters. Once the agreement was clear, the task proceeded quickly.
“It would be faster to split up and search, but do you have any idea which group might have kidnapped him?”
“I suspect it’s one of the third-year students.”
“The motive?”
“It’s likely to get revenge on us. If they want something, they’ll probably contact us, the Four Heavenly Kings… especially Seong Hae-min.”
“It would be good if we could find him before that, but… for now, we should all maintain good communication channels.”
Do Yun-hyeok and Lee Beom, having quickly concluded their discussion, nodded at each other.
Lee Beom quickly assigned roles. They would split into pairs to search for Seong Hae-jun’s traces and explore suspicious hideouts. Ban Pyo-ran, Ban Seo-yi, and Kim Yi-dam, who might be outmatched in a fight, would focus on gathering information through communication. Seong Hae-min would be the overall contact person, Min Si-hu would provide rear support with GPS tracking, and Jeon Jae-hyung would handle the aftermath. The action leaders were Do Yun-hyeok and Lee Beom.
It didn’t take long for them to begin carrying out their assigned roles. The individuals, clearly given their missions, rushed out of the area like lightning. Their intense single thought was:
‘Please… be safe, Seong Hae-jun!’
❖ ❖ ❖
I woke up to find myself lying in a dark place. Lying on my side, I blinked and tried to move my body to sit up. But I realized my body wasn’t moving as I intended and lowered my head to check myself. My head throbbed when I moved it.
Right, I was hit on the back of the head…
“Shut this bastard up. So he doesn’t make a sound.”
I heard those words. Then, when I came to my senses, I was tied up and lying on the floor.
‘What on earth is this situation….’
Putting aside my bewilderment and anger for a moment, I scanned my surroundings with frightening calmness. Dust-like particles fell from the ceiling.
Being attacked from behind suggests kidnapping; being bound suggests imprisonment.
Judging by the shape of the space, it looks like an unfinished abandoned building. Looking out the window, it’s not the first floor. They’ve taken me deep inside.
I slowly pieced together the situation. I had been kidnapped and imprisoned in a construction site that had been halted.
Having reached that conclusion, I tried to recall the memories before I was hit on the head.
Ban Seo-yi went to the restroom, and I sat on a bench for a moment, feeling confused. Then, while I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings, I was hit on the back of the head, knocked unconscious, and kidnapped.
That means the kidnapper had been secretly following me, waiting for an opportunity until I was alone. This, in turn, meant it wasn’t a random kidnapping but one specifically targeting me.
And if it was clearly targeting me, it was highly likely to be someone who held a grudge against the Four Heavenly Kings. A grudge against the Four Heavenly Kings… there were too many people who might have one, making it difficult to pinpoint. However, most recently, the third-year student who received disciplinary action for the recent incident seemed the most likely.
For a moment, I wondered if Ban Seo-yi was behind it, but it lacked strong credibility. I set aside the emerging suspicion. Ban Seo-yi had seemed very confused earlier, and there was no reason for her to kidnap me in this manner now. I decided to postpone speculating on who kidnapped me.
Confirming there was no one outside, I began to wiggle my fingers and other body parts, checking my condition.
Aside from my head, I wasn’t seriously injured, though I had some scrapes here and there. My body, stiff from being in the same position, felt a little sore, and my limbs, bound tightly with duct tape, were numb. Other than that, my overall condition wasn’t too bad. If I could break free from the restraints, I felt I could move normally.
I realized I was assessing the situation with more calmness than I expected. I took a slow, deep breath to relax my body.
‘What time is it….’
Since it was summer and the days were long, it was difficult to estimate the time. I furrowed my brow.
‘Ah… I was supposed to go to cram school with Hae-min after I got back….’
Seong Hae-min, did he know I was kidnapped? How surprised would he be if he knew? If he realized I was gone, Seong Hae-min would go crazy… I didn’t want to worry Seong Hae-min. Thinking of Seong Hae-min made my heart heavy.
I thought the problems were all resolved, but… yes, it was strange for life to go so smoothly. I had thought there would be some form of retaliation, but I had let my guard down in the face of such a smooth-flowing situation. My own carelessness in not being properly prepared was a significant fault.
I bit my lower lip hard. If Seong Hae-min knew I was kidnapped, not just Seong Hae-min but all the others might have been frantically searching for me. I really needed to get back quickly.
A sigh escaped me.
‘After all the effort I put in to avoid this situation, what is this….’