Sehun's POV:
"I can't believe that he went through with it, Yeol," I told my elder.
"The engagement?" he asked me. "Why not?"
We put down the boxes we had been moving for Ryung-gi and went to grab water. Chanyeol had offered that we'd help move her out of G-Dragon's place and then we'd also help Jisung move separately so nobody would find it as obvious what was going on. I, on the other hand, was still a little shocked that the two had gotten engaged. After all, Jisung was 20 and Ryu-ah was 18 still.
"They're just really young. Do you really think this will work?" I asked him.
Chanyeol, Chen, Baekhyun, and Kai all looked at me as if I was missing something.
"Sehun, Ryu-ah may not be that old in age, but she's more mature than most of us in this room. She grew up very fast to survive after her heart transplant," Yeol told me.
"What's more, nobody knows how long the girl will actually survive. If it makes the two of them happy to do this, let them. It's not as if either of them is unaware that her heart can give out at any time. They both know what the reality is for her with her health, yet they love each other unconditionally. Not many adults our age, let alone someone Jisung's age, could handle that. Yet, somehow, Jisung has learned to not only deal with the probability of losing her, he's loved her no matter what," Chen said.
"Just be happy for Ryu-ah and Jisung-ie, Sehun," Baekhyun started. "Not all of us get to find love so easily. Jisung had trouble dealing with anyone close to his own age and now look at him with Ryu-ah. Can you honestly tell me that you're surprised the two of them are together?"
"I'm surprised it took so long for them to become official," Kai said, which made us all laugh.
"I guess not, Hyung," I replied.
We got back to work and finished moving Ryu-ah's things into their temporary place. Thankfully, G-Dragon had ordered their furniture under his name and had it delivered so none of us were moving furniture. After we finished with Ryu-ah's things, we went and made sure Jisung's things were packed. We would be moving his things the following day. When we finished moving his, we were having a house party for the two of them there. That was G-Dragon's call.
"Alright, are you sure everything is packed, Jisung-ie?" Baekhyun asked him, smiling.
"Yup. Other than what I'm wearing now, what I need for tonight and what I'm wearing tomorrow, all of my things are packed and ready to be moved," he said, smiling brightly.
NaNa came and jumped on his back.
"Finally! I'm gonna have my own room!" he exclaimed.
NaNa and Jisung laughed.
"I'll miss you too, Jaemin-hyung," Jisung said, as he pushed him off of his back.
"Who said anything about missing you?" NaNa asked making us all laugh.
The following night, after we'd gone home, washed up and changed, we all gathered back at Jisung and Ryu's new place. Of course, since the penthouse was one of G-Dragon's penthouses, it was big enough to host a big party, so throughout the night it was hard to keep track of who had come to wish them well. So many idols who were friends with Ryu, Jisung, or BTS came to celebrate.
We all had a great time at the party. Considering we were all well aware of the threat made against Ryu-ah, it was nice to see her and Jisung relax the way they did. All of us had seen the effects the death threat had taken not only on the two of them, but on BTS as well, since Ryu still wasn't on great terms with them. Still, even they were at the house party and for the night, any tension between Ryu and her family was put aside.
Over the next few weeks, it was clear that Ryu and Jisung were trying their best to focus on their work instead of the death threat even with the police investigation. Neither would discuss the situation, nor the situation between Ryu and BTS. So, when her birthday came around, Taemin threw her birthday party. It was a big party at a club. Her family was there, but unlike at the house party, you could see the strain between her, Kookie, and Suga.
Still, even Ryu's birthday party was a blast and even she had fun as long as she wasn't around Kookie or Suga for too long. Taemin had gone overboard to make sure that with how tense things were in Ryu's day to day life, her birthday was as memorable as he could make it. He even convinced Kris, Luhan, Lay, and Tao to fly in for it to make it even more unforgettable. When Ryu saw them she cried, but they were tears of happiness as she ran away from Jisung and into their arms.
"What's on your mind?" Yeol asked me as I watched Ryu with Kris, Luhan, Lay, and Tao.
"Kris, Luhan, and Tao swore they'd never step foot back in Seoul. And here they are," I replied to him. "What is it about Kim Ryung-gi that immediately made us all just want to be there for her no matter what, Hyung?"
"The fact that as hard as things were for us being trainees to actually make our debuts, Sehun, this girl is the sole survivor of a crash that the doctors weren't even sure she would live the first 24 hours. Here she is, 8 years later, alive, thriving, living her life to the fullest, not letting anything, even her heart, hold her back. She is a warrior to still be alive and we all know it," he started. "Even with everything she's been through, even though she's Jin-hyung's, and could use that to get anything she wanted, she doesn't. She cares more about other people. This girl, who grew up in front of us, with a borrowed heart, cares deeper about other people than some people who have had their hearts their entire lives. She would do anything for those she cares about. That is why we all have that urge to be here for her, Sehunnie."
I knew what he said was true. It always had been, even without her realizing she was doing it.
Jin's POV:
The day after Ryu's birthday party, Jisung's parents and I went over to their place to have lunch with them to celebrate with her. After all, it wasn't every day that your daughter becomes an adult. And while the party Taemin had thrown for Ryu was great, I still wanted to spend a little time with her with a smaller crowd.
After we were all settled, Jisung's parents and I spoke as Jisung and Ryu finished preparing lunch. I had offered to come over and cook, but Ryu refused the offer, insisting that she and Jisung would take care of it. It was the first time I had a chance to sit down with Jisung's parents. The only other time I'd actually met them in person was the morning Jisung and Kookie had gotten the threat against Ryu.
"So," Mrs. Park started. "You must be overwhelmed with Ryu-ah becoming of-age and the engagement."
I almost choked. I hadn't heard about that.
"The what?" I asked her.
"Ryung-gi and Jisung's engagement. Didn't you know?" Mr. Park asked.
"Ryu-ah and I haven't had much time to see or speak to each other recently. We've both been busy with work, the two of them moved in here, I'm sure it was just an oversight," I started. "We typically talk about these things but our schedules have been chaotic."
"Jisung! Ryung-gi!" Mr. Park called the two, making them come to the living room.
"Yes, Appa?" Jisung replied.
"Why didn't Mr. Kim know about your engagement?" Mr. Park demanded and Ryu-ah paled, making me realize she'd forgotten in the chaos.
"Mianhae, Appa," Ryu-ah said to me. "With everything that happened recently, it must've slipped my mind the two or three times we've spoken in private since we got engaged. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to find out like this."
"You've only spoken to your father two or three times in the last few weeks?" Mrs. Park asked.
"It's not normal, but yes, Mrs. Park," Ryu replied. "BTS has been very busy and after the death threat, I've had a packed schedule myself. On top of it, some days I have work with me when I come home. So, in the last month or so, Appa and I haven't really had much time to talk."
Ryu turned to Jisung.
"Do you mind spending some time with your parents so Appa and I can talk about this while I finish cooking?" she asked him.
He smiled at her, kissed her cheek, and nodded at her. As he made his way closer to his parents, I got up and followed her into the kitchen. Immediately, I washed my hands to help her cook.
"Is that really all this is, Ryu?" I asked her after I washed my hands.
"It really is, Appa," she replied. "We've both been so busy. I guess at first it slipped my mind and then I assumed you knew, but I never meant to hide this from you."
"So tell me, when and where did this happen?"
"Here, actually," she started. "Not long before we moved in. Jisung brought me here to show me the place. When I told him it didn't matter because Soo Man would never allow him to leave the dorm, he asked me to look at him. We were in the living room and I was looking out the window at the view. When I turned around, he was on one knee with the ring."
"May I see the ring?"
She pulled it out from under her shirt, where it was on a chain.
"Why aren't you wearing it?" I asked as I looked at the beautiful ring.
"Cooking," she said simply. "I don't wear the ring when I'm cooking, so I keep a plain chain around my neck I can slip it onto to keep it safe under my shirt if I need to take it off."
"It's a beautiful ring, Ryu-ah. Jisung has good taste," I told her. "But why did the two of you get engaged before you even turned 19?"
"To have the freedom to move in together," she said before she explained what happened with Lee Soo Man. "He told Jisung if he wanted to be able to move in with me, then he should at least be willing to get engaged. I had no idea about that until after I'd accepted because I'd had to leave the meeting early to get to my calculus final."
"I'm not going to ask if you really love him. I know you do, Ryu. Just like I know he loves you," I told her. "And I'm not going to lecture you about being too young for something like this. Because you were right when we argued at G-Dragon's place last month. You had to grow up too fast because of that plane crash, even if I want to keep you my little Ryu forever. Just understand, I may be okay with you being engaged to him, but when this relationship gets out, if you guys set a date for the wedding, your lives, everything will change. I've protected you from the press, Ryu. As much as I could since you've become my daughter. You and Jisung being together, it's not easy to have a life with an idol, Ryu."
"I know that, Appa. And I've known about you shielding me from the media since I worked with Honggi. He told me what you did when you went back to work with Big Hit to protect me. I love you for that, Appa," she said to me, surprising me. "But idol or not, media or not, this relationship was always going to be difficult because of me. My heart and the complications I have to deal with because of it takes a toll on the people around me. You may have tried to hide it from me, but I've seen it over the years. And I was scared for a long time to risk letting anyone in outside of our family, but I couldn't keep him out. I tried because I never wanted to put him through pain, and you know there's no way to avoid it now, Appa. And if he is willing to be brave enough to stand by my side knowing how bad things can really get, I wouldn't deserve him if I weren't brave enough to stand by him."
I hugged her, in awe of the fact that she was aware of what she was facing when word of their relationship got out out. But I also hugged her because I was scared for her. Someone wanted to hurt her. She was in a relationship that had the possibility for so many real dangers to both of them, but they loved each other and made each other happy. It's all I wanted for her. I just hoped, they stayed safe. We finished cooking and served lunch to the Parks.
"Is everything okay between you and Jin-hyung, Ryu?" Jisung asked as we all sat down.
"Yes. We talked and he's okay with the engagement, he was just surprised that I forgot to tell him," she replied.
"So, you are okay with the engagement?" Mrs. Park asked me.
"Of course I am," I told her, smiling. "I told Ryu when she first asked if she could date Jisung he would make a good son-in-law."
We all laughed.
"I just want her to be happy," I continued. "One thing I have learned since I became a father is that nothing is a guarantee. So, sometimes stepping back and looking at the big picture to see what will make Ryu happy is more important to me than fighting something I can't understand her perspective."
"What do you mean?" Mr. Park asked.
"As much as I want to keep Ryu close and my little Ryu, an argument we had last month, where she ultimately lost her temper and snapped at me proved something I needed to see," I started. "My little, innocent Ryu never got off that plane eight years ago. Because she survived the plane crash she had to grow up too fast, learn to understand things in life at a young age that most children don't have to, such as their own mortality, having to keep her emotions in check to keep her heart safe, physical and emotional trauma. I may have been at her side to help her, but I didn't experience it. I can't understand her perspective of being physically a child, but forced to have to understand the repercussions of having a heart transplant at ten years old. So, keeping that in mind, sometimes I need to stop trying to look at her as a teenager, because she has the wisdom of someone beyond her physical years, so I can do what is truly best for her, even if I personally am not ready to let her go."
"For example her moving out?" Mrs. Park asked.
"Exactly. That was when the argument happened. She needed space from our family and the same friend who is letting them stay here until they find a place of their own, let her move in with him when she got upset and realized she couldn't face one of her oppas," I told her.
"How could he just help her run away while she was underage?" Mr. Park asked.
"That's not exactly how it happened, Appa," Jisung said.
"Then what did happen?" Mr. Park asked.
"When I went to our friend, he agreed to help me move out while Appa and the others weren't home, but it was on the condition that I allow him to call Appa over to his place so the three of us could talk about why I had left," Ryu said. "I had hit a point where I needed to get distance from my brothers. It had nothing to do with Appa. I just got to the point where I felt like I was being suffocated there and needed to breathe. I agreed to his condition and Appa came over a few hours later. We argued, but he ultimately saw I wasn't trying to push them out of my life by moving in with our friend. Our friend helped him see I was trying to save our relationship by leaving before I started to resent anyone because I loved them too much for that. Once Appa calmed down to see that, everything was fine. He'd even visit me there. I just hit breaking point and ran to our friend, desperately needing someone outside of the house to just hear me."
"Are you speaking to the other members of BTS? Your brothers?" Mrs. Park asked.
"That's still a work in progress," I told her. "Two of the boys broke her trust. She loves them, but she and they need time to figure that out."
I saw Jisung squeeze Ryu's hand under the table.
"Let's not focus on such things. We're here to celebrate Ryu's birthday, right?" Mrs. Park, obviously sensing Ryu's discomfort said. "Other than this today, did you have any plans?"
"While, Taemin from SHINee threw me a huge party last night at a club," Ryu told Mrs. Park. "It was really nice of him and he invited so many of my friends, including some of my friends who live in China. I was shocked to see them. They don't come to Korea since they left SM."
"It sounds like your friend really went all out for you," Mr. Park said.
"He did," I agreed. "Her brothers and I were at the party last night, but I wanted a more intimate celebration this year with Ryu, which is why I wanted to have the birthday lunch. Every year she has a big party with idols, because most of her friends are idols. She just moved in with Jisung and she's in university, she's working, taking care of herself. I thought this would be a nice change of pace."
"I took her out on her actual birthday, which is why Taemin had the party last night," Jisung added. "And tonight, we're going out to dinner with Kris, Luhan, Tao, and Lay before they go back to Beijing."
"Three days of celebrating. That sounds like fun," Mrs. Park replied. "Did you get any fun presents?"
"I'm not sure," Ryu replied shocking me and Jisung's parents.
"How are you not sure?" Mr. Park asked, laughing.
"The party was so big last night, I didn't get a chance to open the gifts. They're in the spare bedroom. I'm going to open them tomorrow and then send out thank you notes," she replied.
"How will you have the time, with work?" I asked.
"Ryu took a week off," Jisung answered. "She's been tired lately, so we talked and she's going to stay home for a few days to rest."
Ryu wouldn't look at me, so I knew while they wanted his family to think everything was fine, something was wrong. Still, I let it go.
"What will you do with all that leftover free time? You're always so busy, Ryu-ah?" Mrs. Park asked.
"I haven't decided yet. I don't know if I know how to just rest anymore," she said, laughing.
When lunch was over, Jisung walked his parents to their car. I looked at Ryu.
"Why are you really taking a week off?" I asked her.
"Jisung asked me to stay home," she told me.
"Why?"
She got up and walked over to a desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a piece of paper. When she came over to me, I could tell it was a photocopy.
"Because this was sent to NCT Dream's dorm in Jisung's name, Appa," she said, handing me the piece of paper.
The sheet of paper held another picture, like the one Kookie described being sent to him. Only, on this one, the picture said, "You won't be able to keep her safe forever." A chill ran down my spine as I saw the threat to my daughter's life.
"Where is the original?" I asked her.
"With the police. Jisung asked for a photocopy of it because he wanted to create his own record of what's going on. He even printed the picture that was sent the first time," she replied.
"Where is it?"
"No, Appa," she said. "I'm not showing you that. These pictures, they scare me. I'm not going to show them to you because you're already always scared for me. This one is bad enough."
"Ryu, I need to know..." I started.
"Hyung," Jisung said, having come back inside. "Please, don't do this to Ryu-ah. I feel like it's important that I keep a record of this for myself because of past experience with the police. But please don't ask Ryu to show you, her own father, threats against her life."
I realized he was right. I was only going to scare and stress Ryu more.
"I'm sorry, Ryu," I said, getting up, giving him the letter, and hugging her.
"It's okay, Appa," she told me.
"Why didn't you guys call me when you got this?" I asked.
"I told Jisung not to, Appa," Ryu said, making me look down at her. "I just feel like the more attention these threats are given, the worse it's going to get. So, Jisung reported it to the police with Mr. Kang's help, and we're just taking it one day at a time."
"I understand if you don't want to give a lot of attention to this, Ryu, but I'm your Appa. Even if the two of you don't want to tell anyone else, please, tell me."
"I will, Hyung," Jisung said to me.
"Now, I still need to give you my birthday present," I said to Ryu. "Both of you, come outside."
They followed me outside. I handed Ryu a small box. She opened it to find a car key. As she looked up at me, Taehyun and Beomgyu were pulling up in a new SUV with a red ribbon on it.
"Appa?" she asked me, confused. "I already have a car."
"I know, but I should have been the one to get you your first car. My stubbornness kept me from doing it," I started. "So, since both of you have your own schedules, I figured you could keep one of the SUVs and Jisung could have the other."
She smiled at me brightly and hugged me.
"Gomawo, Appa!"
"Gomawo, Hyung," Jisung said in shock. "That's very generous."
"You're part of the family now, Jisung-ah," I told him. "Now, I should get going. You have plans tonight and I have to get these two back to their group."
Beomgyu and Taehyun ran over and hugged Ryu when I let her go.
"Please, just call me more often, especially if there is trouble, you two?" I said to my daughter and her fiancé. "And, please, don't run off getting married without me?"
"I promise, Appa," Ryu said, laughing.
I pried Beomgyu and Taehyun away from Ryu and got them into my car. Then we left.
Ryu's POV:
The week I had taken off after the threat went by uneventfully. No other threats were sent to Jisung, which was great for us. Everything was quiet and both Jisung and I fell back into our routines. It was even easier for us since Appa bought me a new car for my birthday and so Jisung now had full use of my first car.
As the summer went on, I did more and more work as Jisung and I began looking for our first real home together. Too soon, the second term of university was approaching, so I had to start rearranging my work schedules so that I could attend my classes. Thankfully, Jisung and I had fully gotten into the routine of living together over the summer, so things like getting the house cleaned, grocery shopping, and cooking were all just part of our normal routine, we didn't even need to ask who was doing what on a given day.
When I started my classes, Vernon was in one of my classes, but to my surprise, so was Hoshi, one of Vernon's elders from Seventeen. Vernon and I were both taking a music production class together, but Hoshi and I were in an English class together. It turned out Pledis asked him to take the class to help his language skills.
As the term started, Vernon, Hoshi, and I started spending more time together, which I think made Jisung feel slightly better about me going since the threats had started. Unlike my first term in university, I didn't want to associate with my female friends. After finding out about Namkyu, I wasn't sure about trusting Lily, Taeyeon, Mako, and Haru anymore, so I decided to stick close to the friends I had known longer, that I knew wouldn't stab me in the back. They seemed hurt I didn't want to spend time with them anymore, but all I had to say to them was ask Namkyu why I didn't trust any of them anymore.
In addition to my classes, I was working on projects with Stray Kids, NCT, and Super Junior. These were all big projects. I was happy to do it, but honestly, I hadn't realized how much I had taken on when I signed on for them. As my assignments started piling up and my workload kept coming, some days I needed to remind myself that I was capable of finishing all of it. Other days, I stayed at the studio all night working on the projects and schoolwork from there, which Jisung really didn't like.
It was in mid-October that Hoshi and Zelo staged an intervention on me. I was at the school library, rearranging music and working on assignments when they found me. I was so focused on what I was doing I hadn't seen them coming, so I was very shocked when my books were closed on me.
"What the hell?" I asked them.
"Hoshi here tells me you're doing too much Ryu-ah," Zelo said to me.
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"You almost handed in one of Stray Kids new songs to our English professor instead of your assignment. You're lucky I caught it or you'd be massively screwed right now, Ryu. I pulled your actual assignment out of your folder and handed it in when you started to fall asleep in class," Hoshi said, worried, shocking me.
"Let's go," Zelo started, putting my things into my bag. "You're coming with us."
"Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see," Hoshi replied.
I left with them and they took me to Pledis. When we got there, I found Vernon, Jisung, and of all people, Jimin, there.
"What the hell is going on?" I asked.
"Ryu-ah, I know you haven't wanted to see any of us," Jimin started, "but you're friends are worried you're going to hurt yourself."
"I'm tired," I said, turning my gaze towards Jisung. "Can we go home?"
"No. You need to hear Jimin-hyung out. You won't listen to any of us. I'm worried about you, Ryu."
"Fine," I said, looking back to Jimin. "What do you have to say?"
"Do you remember what I was like when you first came home from the hospital with Jin to live with us?" he asked me and I had to think because the guys tried to keep anything upsetting from me.
"Not really," I told him. "You guys all walked on eggshells around me because you were so scared of my heart."
"The rest of the guys used to get on my case all the time because of my diet and exercise habits," he started. "I was so worried about pleasing ARMYs with my body image, I would work out as much as I could... and eat as little as I could get away with, sometimes passing out."
"Why would you do that to yourself, Oppa?" I asked.
"Why would you work yourself so hard that your wearing your body down, knowing the potentially fatal risks you're taking doing it?" he asked me back. "I just wanted to make people happy and I was trying to make too many people happy when it was impossible to make an entire fandom accept me for the way I look, Ryu-ah. Why are you overworking yourself when you know that the strain on your heart can kill you?"
I just stared at him. Jimin had always been there if I needed help with my homework, to temper Hobi's dance lessons, or just if I wanted to hang out, especially since I was so close to Taemin. He'd always been protective of me and I knew he loved me as much as Appa, but he'd never been the one to confront me if he thought I was out of line. The fact that Jisung, Hoshi, Vernon, and Zelo had gone to him somehow made the words have a bigger impact. Maybe it was the fact that he had admitted to how he had done something similar that could've been just as dangerous.
"Oppa... I didn't mean to," I admitted. "It just snowballed."
"What do you mean, Ryu-ah?" Vernon asked.
"In the second week of classes, I was already working on multiple projects and I started to feel a little sick," I started. "I fell behind on some of my classwork. It spiraled from there. I've been struggling to keep up with my contracts and try to catch up with my assignments since then. I... I started to feel like I was drowning."
"Why didn't you ask me or Vernon for help?" Hoshi asked
"I was scared to admit I had started feeling sick and hadn't told anyone," I told them.
"Why didn't you tell me, Ryu? I would've taken care of you," Jisung asked, hurt. "Taeyong could've helped you catch up with some of the production work. I'm sure Han, Changbin, and Chan would've helped at JYP if they knew you weren't feeling well. And we would've made sure the managers wouldn't have realized that we were covering for you to keep your professional reputation in tact."
"I freaked out and didn't even think about that, Jisung-ie," I admitted. "I panicked, worrying about what would happen if I didn't get my assignments done or my work done and I wasn't thinking clearly."
"Ryu," Jimin started, "Jisung would move the heavens for you if he could. You live with him now because of whatever is going on that you don't want to be around Kookie and Suga. For crying out loud, the two of you are engaged. Please, you need to turn to him if you aren't feeling well because he's going to be the closest person to you at home to help you."
"I'm sorry," I said. "I just got scared."
Jimin hugged me and I felt some of the overwhelming pressure that had been on my shoulders for weeks disappearing. When he let me go, I went over to Jisung and hugged him. As he hugged me back, I felt some sense of balance come back to me. He kissed the top of my head.
"Don't ever scare me so bad we have to go to one of your brothers again, Ryu," he said to me. "I love you and I will always do whatever I can to help you, but I can't do anything if you don't tell me what's wrong."
I nodded against his chest and let him hold me for another minute before I turned around to look at the others. Jisung was still holding me, keeping my back pressed to his chest.
"Vernon, Hoshi, I'm really sorry that I scared you guys. I didn't mean to. Vernon, I'm even more sorry to you because this isn't the first time I scared you at school like this. I'll try to talk to you guys more if I'm struggling. I promise," I said before I looked to Zelo. "I'm sorry I let it get bad enough that Hoshi felt he needed to get you to help me, Z. I'm still figuring out this adult-thing. It's new to me, I'm stumbling blind trying to figure out school and how many contracts I can handle while I'm actively in class versus when I have breaks from school."
"I'll let it go without telling Guk this time, Ryu, but if this happens again, I'm getting him involved," he said to me, with a smile.
"Oppa, can forgive me? I wasn't trying to be irresponsible," I asked Jimin.
"I know you weren't doing this intentionally, Ryu. And I'm not mad at you. I was worried. You just need to be careful, okay? I don't want to have these guys come to me, scared, that something has happened to you because you fell back into this again, okay?"
"I'll do my best, Oppa," I replied.
After that intervention, Hoshi and Vernon helped me catch up on my classwork. Taeyong and Changbin discreetly helped me to cover all the work I was getting overwhelmed by and promised that they always would if I needed them to. I was so grateful to them. By the beginning of November, I was caught up on everything, found a solid routine to handle all of my work and school assignments without overwhelming myself, and even found some extra time to focus on my relationship. Things were looking good.
As the end of year shows started, I opted not to do any work for the shows. I chose not to do any graphics or anything for anyone, choosing instead, to stay at home and take a break. Jisung didn't have the option I was taking as NCT was performing at multiple shows. He understood my choice to stay home after the rocky start I had to the beginning of the term.
"Promise me," Jisung said to me the day he had to leave, "that you will stay safe while I'm gone, Ryu."
"I'm probably going to spend most of my time here. I don't want to overwhelm myself, so I don't want to get involved in much right now," I promised him.
"I'll call you everyday."
"I'll let you know if I change my plans of just mostly staying in the house," I promised.
"I don't care about my managers. If something is wrong, I'll come back."
"Your father won't like you doing that. You know how he feels about you and your career."
"I know. But he also knows how much I love you," he said before he kissed me.
"Go. If you don't you're going to start coming up with reasons to stay," I told him.
"I know," he said, kissing me one more time before leaving.
As the season started for the end of year shows, Jisung and I did keep in touch every day. The two of us talked more than I talked to Appa, who I talked to every two to three days.
Jisung's POV:
I'd been away from home, away from Ryu for almost three weeks with the end of year shows. We talked on the phone a lot, but I had a bad feeling. I grabbed my phone and saw a message from Ryu saying she was going to the lake house to get out of the city for a few days and she'd message me when she got there. I didn't really have time to check the timestamp on the message because NCT got called for practice.
Hours later, I had the nagging feeling again and decided to check my phone again. The timestamp for the original message had been an hour or two before I had seen it. But there was no message after that. I tried to call Ryu, but she didn't answer. Trying not to give in to fear, I figured maybe she fell asleep after the drive. I didn't have long to worry because I had to perform that night and had to get ready.
The following day I still hadn't heard from Ryu. I tried her again and still there was no answer on her phone. Now getting scared, I went to find BTS, knowing they were somewhere at the show. When I found them, Jin looked nervous to see me.
"What's wrong?" he asked me.
"Have you talked to Ryu?" I asked him.
"Not in a few days. Why?"
"She's not answering her phone, Hyung," I told him. "She sent me a message yesterday she was going to the lake house we would go to just to get out of the city and she'd let me know she'd gotten there. She never let me know and she hasn't picked up her phone since."
Jin tried to call her. I could tell when it went to voicemail.
"Maybe it's nothing?" he said, and I could tell he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince me.
"Hyung, I have a bad feeling," I told him.
I dialed another number. He picked up right before it would've gone to voicemail.
"Yeoboseyo?" he asked.
"Jiyong-hyung? Have you talked to Ryu?" I asked.
"Not in a few days. Why?"
I explained the situation and told him where the lake house was. He told me that he and Seung-hyun would take the drive to check it out after they went by the penthouse and he'd call me back.
"What did he say?" Jin asked.
"He hasn't heard from her in a few days, but he's gonna stop by the penthouse and if she's not there, he's going to the lake house," I told him. "He'll call me back."
"Let me know as soon as you know something," Jin replied and I nodded, going back to NCT.
"What's wrong?" Taeyong asked as soon as he saw me.
"I can't contact Ryu. It's been over a day," I told him.
"I'm sure she's fine," he said, trying to reassure me, but I could tell he was scared.
"Jiyong-hyung is going to check and let me know," I replied.
I became pretty distracted by practice while I waited for Jiyong-hyung to call me back. I was on stage with NCT Dream when Johnny called out to me that Jiyong was calling me. I ran offstage to answer.
"What did you find?" I asked him.
"Jisung, Ryu is missing..." he said to me. "There's a picture at the lake house like the threats."
"Send me a picture of it," I told him.
"I don't think you should see this, Kid."
"Please."
A minute later, I had the picture. This time, the picture was actually of Ryu. She was beat up and the message said "Her death cry will go unheard."
"Call the police and report it, Jiyong-hyung. The last time I can actually say I had contact with her was two days ago. That was the same day Jin-hyung last had contact with her. With that, I'm sure the text yesterday was a set-up to keep me from trying to contact her longer. Jin and I will be home as soon as we can."
"Alright, Kid. I'm sorry I had to tell you this."
Before I told anyone I called my father.
"Jisung. Shouldn't you be with NCT?"
"Appa, I'm about to do something that might get me into trouble with SM, but I need you to support me," I said to him, before I sent him the message Jiyong sent me. "I sent you a picture. Look at it carefully before you react to me, Appa. Please. I'm going home. Today."
"Jisung, we've talked about this..."
"Appa, look at the picture. Please," I begged him.
I heard him gasp.
"Is that Ryu?" he asked me.
"Yes, Appa. Jiyong-hyung just sent that to me because I haven't been able to reach her. She's missing. That is what the death threats have looked like that we've been worried about. They have her, Appa. I have to come home."
"Do what you have to," he finally told me.
I went to Taeyong and told him I was leaving, showing him the picture and asking him not to tell anyone else. The I rushed to Jin and told him what I found out. He panicked, but he and I left the venue together to go back to Korea to try to find Ryu.