Park Jimin is tearing his hair out.
His estate has turned into a hotel, and the one man he vowed would never reside under his roof is clogging up his halls and getting on his nerves. The arrival of her enigmatic ex, however, is exactly what Hahm Yun...
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How was it that half a dozen grown men could make so little noise?
The study was disturbingly quiet, the ticking clock on the mantel clanging in Jimin's ears like a forty-inch gong while the room waited for him to speak and his fried brain tried to contemplate their next course of action.
A challenging deed when all he could think about was Yunhee.
The woman was strong, he'd seen her stare death in the face and stand up to the cruellest of men, but Taehyung combined with The Dark Energy...
Jimin wiped his palm over his mouth as he gazed at the dusky gardens.
What happened last night was outside his scope of expertise. As an influential Mafia King, he could contact the government, recruit an army of soldiers, and obliterate an entire city. But without the stone, he was powerless.
Five hours he'd spent searching Crystal Kingdom with Tae this morning, but the place was like a maze and his old friend had zero recollection of where he'd been shot because he was still suffering from a bout of dissociative amnesia.
Jin and Namjoon had followed suit to make the most of the daylight, but they too had found zilch, clambering through the door ten minutes ago with no further news.
5PM the day after Yunhee was taken. None the fucking wiser.
Pinpointing the stone at the theme park was like trying to find a four-leaf clover in a million acres of grass, but Jimin would sell his soul a thousand times over before giving up.
'We need to go back,' Tae grumbled. 'All this moping around and thinking is doing nothing to help Yunhee.'
Awakening from his mental quandary, Jimin turned from the patio doors, his red-rimmed eyes sparing a glimpse at his companions.
A forlorn Jungkook and Hobi were sprawled on the sofa either side of a cranky Suga, while a haggard Jin and Namjoon remained on their feet, their unbuttoned collars covered in grime, their hair awry and their ties askew.
Then there was Tae, drawn and fatigued with eyebrows higher than Mount Everest after suggesting they keep looking.
Twenty-four hours of no sleep plus a week and half of being held prisoner would do that to a man, but despite his eagerness to assist, Tae was clutching at straws.
They couldn't find the stone in broad daylight, let alone in the dark.
'Not tonight,' Namjoon answered on behalf of his boss, 'we're exhausted and it would be counterproductive. I think it would be best if Tae and Jimin go back to the theme park at sunrise, then Jin and I after-'
'Going in groups of twos and threes will take us days,' Jungkook argued as he rammed a cushion behind his back.
'He ain't wrong,' Suga croaked. 'I say we all head out at first light, spread out, and comb every inch of the grounds until nightfall.'
