Superstar (Sequel to I Can't Hold on Anymore)

Gyeyang-gu

"Do you know what time it is?" Namjoon asked.

Taehyung held up his phone. "Just past one."

"Oh no."

"It will be fine."

Jungkook kept trudging forward. They had been walking for what felt like eternity. They were going along some random street, looking for the mythical office that the lady had been talking about. Their phones weren't any help. Google didn't help when you had zero idea of where you were supposed to go.

"Hyung?" Jimin called.

Namjoon whirled around. "Yeah?"

"When we get there, what are we supposed to say?"

"Um..." Namjoon shrugged. "Ask them if they've heard about Dang Seung. Move forward from there."

"What do we do after that though?" Jimin asked.

Namjoon glanced at Jungkook.

Jungkook swallowed. Why were they all looking at him? He was the youngest. He wasn't used to having so much responsibility. He usually just did whatever the others told him to.

"We'll figure it out as we go," he said carefully.

Fortunately, Jimin seemed satisfied with that answer. Even Namjoon and Taehyung seemed pleased. They nodded at him.

"You're always so knowledgeable, I like that," Namjoon said.

Jungkook scoffed. Now, it just felt like they were being sarcastic.

"We need to hurry though," he added. "Yoongi hyung or Hoseok hyung will notice our absence soon enough."

"How long will asking a few questions take anyway?" Taehyung asked.

"You're right," Jimin agreed.

They continued on. The sun was high in the sky now. Jungkook felt himself sweating underneath his mask, but he didn't dare take it off. If someone recognized him now, the netizens would have so many speculations.

There was a large office building on the corner of the street they were approaching. Jungkook squinted, trying to read the sign in front.

"What is that?" he asked, pointing.

Taehyung stopped in his tracks. He put his hand up to his forehead to block out the sunlight. He stared for a while before shaking his head.

"I can't read the letters," he said.

"Could it be that office that the lady was...?" Jimin asked.

"That's what I'm thinking," Jungkook said. "It doesn't look like the other houses here."

"It very well could be a different style of construction, but... let's just check it out."

"Let's go." Namjoon nodded.

They crossed the street. Jungkook leaned close to the sign to read it. It was the office that the old lady had been talking about. It looked a lot more ancient up close.

"It's the records building, yes," Jimin said. "So, do we just go in and say what we have to say?"

Taehyung shrugged. "I guess."

They all glanced back at Jungkook again. With a sigh, Jungkook headed up the front steps and pushed open the door. Or tried to, that is. He pushed with all his strength but the door didn't budge.

"Is it closed?" Namjoon asked.

"I don't know."

Jungkook gave it another shove. He kicked at the door. Then he stopped putting on such a show just in case somebody thought he was breaking in. He felt defeated.

"Is it closed?" Taehyung asked.

"I have no clue!"

"Okay, um..." Namjoon pulled out his phone. He tapped away at it for a few seconds before sighing. "Yeah... you see, they're closed on Mondays. We can come back here tomorrow, they open at eight."

Jungkook nearly cried. Again, this much walking? They had accomplished absolutely nothing this day. They had just wasted their time. Wow, and he had been thinking of just how great of an idea this was.

"We can come back tomorrow, it's all good," Jimin said kindly. "At least we know where this place is now. We won't be wandering around like we were today."

"How will we get out tomorrow though?" Taehyung asked.

"What do you mean?"

"The other two will definitely notice if we go missing."

"Oh." Jimin shook his head. "I have an idea about that."

"What?" Jungkook asked, suddenly interested.

"It's time we sat down and got them into this, isn't it? All this hiding and sneaking around business, it's going to get us in trouble one day. If we're going to do this and get to the bottom of this, let's do it all together. Yoongi hyung and Hoseok hyung might take some time to get into it, but I know that they'll eventually agree."

Jungkook gulped. Convincing the other two hadn't been on his to-do list, but what Jimin was saying did have some truth to it. Sooner or later, they would have to know.

"You're going to do the talking though," Jungkook said.

Jimin nodded. "Sure."

"Wait, wait, wait, we're going to explain to them tonight?" Taehyung asked.

Namjoon was pale. "I'm sure... Jimin, I'm sure you'll do a great job explaining to them about this whole business."

"Yes, I will."

Jungkook sighed. He walked down the couple of steps. The streets were quiet now, but when the time came for people to come home from work, they would have large crowds to deal with.

"Let's go, let's get out of here," he said.

They did exactly that.

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848 words