Missing in Action

38: The Eve

"Jihoon-ya, would you like to join me and Baekhyun-hyung? We are going out for a walk and to have dinner," V offered to Jihoon.

Jihoon looked at his teammates and they nodded knowingly, "Go, Jihoon-ah. Almost everyone else also have plans to go out."

"Are you sure, Jisung-hyung?"

"Yes. Just enjoy for tonight. Don't think about tomorrow," Jisung told Jihoon.

The last three days were very hectic for the Supreme Six and Twilight Triad, especially on Wanna One. Three weeks ago, they decided to call an urgent emergency meeting for the Arcanus Alliance all of sudden. Thankfully this time, in addition to Tomoeda, San Francisco and Magnolia, five other kingdoms showed their interest in joining the alliance plus one honorary member as per recommendation of Wanna One. The meeting was held yesterday and the dignitaries just went home today. V and Baekhyun decided to invite Jihoon to dinner after the last representative, Kinomoto Sakura of Tomoeda, left just moments ago.

After roaming around the shopping district in Tempo City, the three of them finally entered a restaurant recommended by Baekhyun. As soon as the three entered the building, all those who were inside cannot help but look at the three in awe. Who would not? It's the Supreme Six's Male Visual Bermuda Triangle.

"Oh, you guys are here, too?" the voice of Shiny's Taemin disturbed their charismatic walking.

The three turned their heads from where the voice came from. Around the table were Bulletproof Scouts' Jimin, X-O's Kai, Shot Hot and Wanna One's Sungwoon. Shiny's Taemin, Shot Hot's Timoteo and Xxiv's Ravi. They were collectively known as the "Padding Squad" for some particular reason; no one really knew the exact reason why.

"You guys are already here? That was fast," Baekhyun said.

"Hello, teleportation," Kai said as a matter of fact.

"Oh well, we're going to the second floor. Enjoy!" V stated.

While they were going up the stairs, they met another group of familiar people.

"Oh?" Jihoon noticed.

It was no other than the famous group composed of Bulletproof Scouts' Jungkook, SVT's Mingyu, DK and The8, In-City's Jaehyun, Gots-Even's Bambam and Troas' Eunwoo.

"Oh, V-hyung? Why are you three here?" Jungkook was surprised.

"What else? We are here for dinner," V responded.

"Seriously, wow! The three of you look so dazzling together," Bambam commented.

"You say that as if the seven of you huddled together are not head-turners yourselves," Baekhyun sassed back. "By the way, are you leaving already?"

"Yes, seonbaenim. We already had our dinner and we have other plans for the night," Jaehyun replied.

"Well, have fun, the seven of you," Baekhyun waved at the group.

The three found a table in a slightly private area in the restaurant. While waiting for their food to be served, Baekhyun and V noticed that Jihoon was spacing pout and not responding to their conversation. They looked at him intently and found him staring outside the glass wall, deep in thought. Jihoon, unfortunately, failed to notice the piercing stares at all.

"Jihoon-ya, are you alright?" V's voice broke his trance-like state.

"Ah, yes, hyung. Sorry about that," Jihoon apologized.

"Are you sure?" Baekhyun was not buying it. Jihoon just smiled and nodded in response.

Before the elder two could pry about it even more, their food arrived. They immediately dug in while having a small conversation in between.

"So tell me Jihoon, why did your group suddenly asked for a Arcanus Alliance meeting and scheduled it just days before the induction ceremony of the eighteenth Supreme Six and Twilight Triad?" Baekhyun asked after slurping some noodles. "I understand that the agenda for the meeting were supposed to be kept secret between all the members of the alliance, the Supreme Six and the Twilight Triad for the time being but why call for a meeting just seven months after its official creation? Why not wait for a full year?"

"Well, uhm..." – Jihoon stuttered, caught off-guard by the sharp question – "... the other interested parties couldn't wait to join so we decided to call for a meeting."

"But couldn't they really wait until the next annual meeting? That sounds a little rude don't you think to the official members?" V probed.

"Well, although taken aback for the spontaneous idea, Sakura-nim, Charmed Ones-nim and Lucy-nim all agreed to it so we decided to push through with it," Jihoon replied.

"It still doesn't make sense to me. That's the purpose of scheduling an annual meeting after all," Baekhyun mumbled. "Although I still trust the decision of Wanna One."

"Same here," V seconded. "By the way, what about tomorrow? Do you think it is still going to be the three of us?"

"For the Supreme Six? I think so but who knows," Baekhyun mumbled. "Even with the information we have, there could be some surprises."

"Well, our group loves surprises," Jihoon giggled. "And besides, In-City and SVT had been improving lately. This year might be their year. We might be out of contention."

"Though I agree with SVT's and In-City's sudden rise in skills, but replacing you in the Supreme Six? Like, hello, in terms of magical power, you are at the top. Even if the rest of the Supreme Six picks a fight with you, you might not even break a sweat against us. Our battles during the War proves that," Baekhyun ranted. "We'll see... we'll see..." Jihoon smiled cryptically.

"You are one weird Chosen," V commented.

"Just like the rest of the Supreme Six," Jihoon rebutted.

The three continued munching on their food. Shortly after finishing their dessert, Baekhyun spoke up.

"I think we should return to our respective headquarters now. We have a big day tomorrow," Baekhyun mentioned.

"I don't want tomorrow to come," Jihoon mumbled under his breathe.

"Did you say anything, Jihoon-ya?" V asked.

"Nothing, hyung. I just yawned; must be sleepy," Jihoon faked a yawn.

"Oh, okay. We should go now," V said.

After making a call to their respective teleporters, V and Baekhyun were fetched by their groupmate.

"Jihoon-ya, V-ya, see you tomorrow," Baekhyun initiated.

"See you all tomorrow at the induction ceremony," V responded.

"Ah, yes," Jihoon could only bow continuously to his seniors.

When V reached A.R.M.Y., he was not that sleepy yet. Roaming their headquarters, he found Jimin watching The Great Escape 3.

"How was your night with your friends, Jimin-hyung?" V started a conversation.

"Well, the usual," Jimin muttered. "Although Sungwoon-hyung was a bit quiet for some reason."

"Really?" V's eyes widened at the information. "Jihoon-ya was always in deep thought throughout our dinner. Do you think there is a problem?"

"Well, maybe. But we don't know if it's personal, something affecting their group or if it is something work related," Jimin rationalized. "Or maybe they are just tired. They must be more tired than us, you know. Being both the rulers of the kingdom and member of the Supreme Six must be exhausting."

"Oh, well, let's just hope they'll get through with it somehow," V ended the conversation.

Meanwhile, back outside the restaurant, just after V and Baekhyun left, Jihoon let out a heavy sigh and lifted his head to stare at the stars.

"It's really tomorrow, huh? I can't believe how fast time flies."