lego. | kim seungmin

twenty.

thankfully, lars and aisha did get a flight to seoul that same day. except it wasn't cheap, it was around 2k for each ticket. at least it was a flight straight to korea, and they didn't have a long layover anywhere.

the group of 3 decides to go to the hotel where the newcomers would be staying so they can figure out what happened.

"my criminal investigation dreams are already coming true!" emma lightens the mood. her friends laugh.

they get to the hotel and get the card and go to the room. they got a hotel fairly close to emma's residence so they wouldn't have to go far.

"let's jot down everything that happened the day of the kidnapping," emma suggested while finding a notepad on the desk the hotel gave.

"did seungmin tell you what happened before you guys hung out?" lars asked.

"yes, he said he got up, felix made pancakes, and he stayed in most of the morning watching kdramas till we hung out around 1pm. oh, i remember my cousin haneul asking where i was going, i don't know if she has anything to do with it though." emma stated.

"hm. that's interesting." aisha raised an eyebrow.

"i guess that is kind of weird. i don't know anyone else who would've kidnapped stray kids, maybe the waiter at the cafe who served us? i never caught his name, though. i also don't recall anyone who looked suspicious on our walk." emma said.

"i'd still put her down as a suspect, that's weird." aisha points to the notepad.

emma feels bad because that's her cousin, but anyone could be involved. even her 17 year old cousin.

"did you ever think it was weird that your grandma bought a mansion right after your grandpa died? and she's never really talked about her job, yet she's mentioned she has a job multiple times. and it's always thursday night that she has meetings i remember you telling me." aisha brings up.

emma begins to connect the dots. she begins to realize something more sinister could be happening. aisha was right, she bought a mansion in a wealthy part of seoul about 3 days after her grandpa's death, and she never talked about her job, not even with her mom or aunt, but she always talks about loving her job. and yes, she always has meetings thursday nights specifically. never wednesday, never friday, always thursday, regardless of whatever event is going on.

"do you think there could be more people? do you think more people were involved? like it was a whole group?" lars asked.

"you're right, if my grandma and cousin were involved, they wouldn't do it themselves, one's too old and frail and the other's too young with no fighting abilities, so they'd have to have some bodyguard-type thing." emma says, "but even if they aren't involved in the kidnapping, we should still investigate both, my grandmother especially. something dark is happening." the two listeners nod.

"haneul has a job too, right? specifically on thursdays? she says she works at your grandma's job?" aisha asked.

"oh my god, you're right. maybe keep an eye on her, too." emma puts her hand to her mouth.

"should we see where they go? it's thursday after all." lars suggests.

"yes, we should!" emma responded.

"but we would need two separate vehicles if your cousin is at her house right now." lars added.

emma thinks for a second, "oh! i have a friend named heeseo who doesn't live too far from haneul, in fact i met her through seoyeon, my other cousin."

"can you contact her? she could be useful." aisha said.

"yep! let me call her real quick." emma pulls out her phone.

emma dials heeseo's phone number and it rings. she hopes she'll pick up, this is their only shot.

by a miracle, she does.

"hello?" heeseo said in korean.

emma says hello back and begins to tell her about their situation.

"so, as you may have heard, stray kids has gone missing. well, me and two of my friends were figuring it out, and we may have some leads, but we need your help." emma explains.

"sure! what's the plan?" heeseo gleefully says.

"i need you to watch haneul, and see who picks her up for her 'work'. i know, it's stalking, and it's haneul, but we may have a reason to do it. we're also suspicious of my grandma, so i'll be watching her."

"i'll go with heeseo." aisha volunteers.

"my friend aisha will go with you, and don't worry, she speaks conversational korean." emma reassured her korean friend.

their plan was set. emma and lars would be watching dalrae while heeseo and aisha would be watching haneul. 7pm is when they'd start stalking them, as that's when dalrae usually leaves, and coincidentally, also haneul.

"what if we buy an apple airtag to attach to your grandma's car? she doesn't have an apple phone, right? we could use it to track her so we don't lose her." lars suggests. along with being a baking expert, he was also the tech guy of the group.

"she has an android, it's alright. expensive, but anything to get our friends back." emma likes the idea.

it was currently 12pm so they went out to get lunch then the airtag. they then went back to her grandma's house where they would put the airtag on her car, then drive off back to the hotel, because no way emma is staying with an evil old woman.

they just might get their friends back.

—author's note—
hiiiiiii how are we doing?? sorry for the short chapter, it's kinda significant tho so i had to add it! also my woosan flag is still in china so i still have to wait 😔 i want it so badddd

i hope you pass any test you have tmrw!

05/18/24: i'm kinda disappointed in this chapter ahajdhvn it definitely could be better