"What?" she breathes out, panic surging through her body.
"How do you know?" Taeyong asks, springing up from the bed, Jihyun right behind him as they follow Ten to his office.
"I got the alert a few minutes ago, his tracker has been cut. Only NCT members would know where your trackers are." Ten says, showing the warning on the screen.
"Wait, you're saying that Johnny and them cut Jaehyun's tracker out?" Jihyun whispers.
"It's the only way this could've happened. No other gang knows about your tracker chips, and Taeil is the only member aside from me and you who knows the exact location of each member's chip." Ten explains quickly. "The three of them cut theirs out as they were leaving, so there's no way for us to find them."
"Why Jaehyun? It's Ji that they really want." Taeyong asks, turning to look at Ten.
"To weaken us? or to use as a bargain? I don't know." Ten responds quietly, focused on the screen in front of him as Taeyong quickly turns to face Jihyun.
"Ji." he places both hands on her shoulders, "if they're trying to use Jae to get to you, I need you to promise that you won't fall for it. Whatever we do, we do as team. You cannot go after him on your own, okay?" Taeyong says sternly.
"Fine. Ten, keep working on this, and Taeyong, you help him. We'll get him back." She says, turning to leave the room.
She walks back down the hallway, her mind racing as she tries to think of what to do. She walks into her room and sits on the edge of her bed, feeling the breeze from her open window.
"Did I leave my window open...?" she asks herself as she notices the wind. Her eyes drift from her window to her desk, a small note in the center. "Okay this was definitely not there before." she quickly opened the note, reading it to herself.
Hello, sister.
By now you must know that Jaehyun is gone and we've taken him. He's safe, for now, aside from a missing chunk of flesh and a tracking chip, he's unharmed.
If you want him to stay that way, then I suggest you cut out your own tracking chip and meet me at the old park past the edge of the territory at 8. I'm willing to propose a trade.
see you soon,
your beloved brother.
Jihyun crumpled the note in her hands, throwing it into the trash and checking the clock. 7:21. Taking a deep breath she pulled out a piece of paper, writing a note on it and shoving it in her pocket. She grabbed her knife and carefully pierced her forearm, wincing slightly as she cut out her tracker, cleaning it and placing it on her desk.
She then sneaked to the garage and hopped on her motorcycle, carefully exiting the house in silence and driving towards the park.
- - -
"Jihyun, thank you for coming." Johnny said, leaning on a light pole as she took off her helmet.
"Where is Jaehyun?" she demanded.
"Not so fast, show me your arm first." she held out her right arm, a quick bloody bandage wrapped around it, which she peeled back to show her wound. "excellent, so you're trading yourself in? how sweet." he snaps his fingers and Doyoung walks out, dragging a blindfolded Jaehyun behind him.
Johnny rips his blindfold off, Jaehyun searching around wildly before his eyes land on Jihyun, his eyes instantly filling with sadness and regret.
"Looks like your precious princess has come to save you" Johnny whispers in Jaehyun's ears as Doyoung undoes his handcuffs.
"You shouldn't have done this Ji." Jaehyun says, walking up to her.
"Just shut up and go home. Tell them all that I love them." she replies, shoving her helmet, keys, and the note into Jaehyun's hands and walking to stand next to Johnny, Doyoung now putting the handcuffs and blindfold on her.
"Wait what's that note?" Johnny asks, seeing the piece of paper in Jaehyun's hand.
"It's my goodbye, Johnny. It's not like I know anything about where we're going anyway, let him take it." Jihyun calls out, Johnny rolling his eyes before nodding at Jaehyun to leave.
Jaehyun walks to the motorcycle, seeing Jihyun pushed into a black van and then driven off. He kicks the ground in anger before jumping on the bike and riding back home.
- - -
"Jaehyun? Jaehyun! You're okay!" Hendery exclaims from the couch. "Guys! Jaehyun's back!" he calls out, causing the rest of the members to rush into the main room.
"Oh my god Jaehyun, you're here!" Taeyong says, quickly hugging him. "I'll go get Ji," he continues, turning towards the staircase.
"She's not there." Jaehyun breathes out, tears running down his face.
"What?" Yangyang asks, looking between the two older boys as they stare at each other.
"She didn't." Taeyong whispers, his eyes widen in realization. "Please tell me she didn't."
Jaehyun looks down, unable to meet Taeyong's eyes.
"Jaehyun I swear to god. You just had to fucking-"
He's cut off as Jaehyun shoves the note into his hand and takes a seat on the couch for Shotaro examine the wound where his tracker once was.
Taeyong quickly opens the note, nearly ripping it in the process.
"What does it say?" Kun asks, trying to hold back the nervous tears in his eyes. Taeyong takes a deep breath before reading the note out loud.
"I want to start by saying I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you guys. I'm sorry that I couldn't stop this. I'm sorry for leaving, and I'm sorry that I couldn't be the leader you guys needed." He feels the tears welling in his eyes, quickly blinking them away as he continues to read.
"If you're reading this note, then it means that Jaehyun got home and you can all guess what I've done. Before I continue, please make sure all the members are there." Taeyong looks around the room and quickly counts the members before turning back to the note.
"Jungwoo, Lucas, Yangyang, Hendery, and Xiaojun, please take it easy. Remember to keep up your training and listen to the older members carefully. Never lose that energy I know you for." Yangyang let's out a loud sob as Taeyong continues.
"Kun, Ten, and Yuta, please watch over them carefully. I know you're going to be hurt from my departure but stay strong for them. I'm counting on you guys" Kun tries to wipe the tears away from his face as he and Yuta hug one another.
"Shotaro, the last year we've spent together finally being close has been wonderful. I couldn't be happier to know that you'll be keeping the gang safe and healthy. With you caring for them, I know everyone will be okay."
"Sungchan and Sicheng, you guys are the aces now. You're both some of the most talented people I've ever known, I know you'll do amazing things. And Sungchan, if I could say one last thing to you as a mentor: trust yourself. Trust your gut and act with confidence. The answer is in the details and always search for more. You'll surprise yourself." Sungchan is sobbing into Mark's side, unable to hold back the tears.
"Donghyuck. I never thought about how much I loved your sassy remarks until now. I'll miss being put in my place by you. Never change that attitude."
"Mark, we've known each other for a long long time, and I know I can count on you. Watch out for those newbies and help them along. I leave them in your hands." Mark is now sobbing as well, clutching onto Sungchan.
"To my newbies. My first and only true friends. I'll miss you guys more than you'll ever know. You've changed my life for the better and I don't regret a single part of our time together. You're in good hands with NCT, and I wish I could've been there to see what you boys turn into, I'm sure it'll be nothing short of extraordinary. I love you all." All four of the boys are crying, huddled in the corner together, silently sobbing into each other shoulders.
"Jaehyun. Although our last moments together might've been a fight, it wouldn't have been us any other way, huh. No words or arguments could ever split us up. you've been my rock. My best friend. My everything since day 1. Don't feel guilty about anything, I don't regret a single moment with you, and I'd do anything to keep you alive. Live your life to the fullest, be happy, and if you find someone to love, tell them. Scream it to the world. You deserve happiness like everyone else." Jaehyun stares at the wall in front of him as Taeyong reads, tears streaming down his face, staining his shirt.
"And lastly Taeyong, forever my older brother and role model. I'm sorry that I didn't keep my promise to you, but I know you'll keep the gang going. There's no one else who I would leave NCT to, so do what you do best and lead them to glory. I'll always be by your side, forever and always." Taeyong pauses to wipe the tears away from his face and take a deep breath.
"To all of you, thank you for being a family. The only love I have ever known. As dysfunctional and crazy as we may be, I'd never have it any other way. I cherish each and every one of you, my only regret is maybe that I didn't say it enough. I love you guys to the moon and back. Don't be too sad, I'll be watching over you, by your side through everything. Make me proud. With eternal love, Jihyun." Taeyong lowers the letter to his side, every single member in tears now.
"So that's goodbye then?" Mark breathes out.
"I guess so." Yuta replies, not even trying to wipe away his tears as they stream down his face.
"Taeyong? What do we do? This can't be goodbye, we have to do something!" Sicheng asks, turning to the older boy. Taeyong is a total mess, tears streaming down his face, his hands shaking as he quickly takes a seat to steady himself.
"I-I don't know." He breathes out, looking at the members.
"The answer is in the details and always search for more...." Sungchan whipsers to himself, thinking hard. "Is there anything else on the note?" He asks, quickly drying his tears and walking over to take the note from Taeyong.
He inspects it closely, turning it around and around, searching for something.
"I knew it. She always has something!" Sungchan exclaims, seeing small marks on the corner of the note.
"What is it?" Lucas asks, the tiniest bit of hope in his eyes.
"I-I don't know." Sungchan says, staring at the small marks. "#10. #2. test." they sit in silence, each trying to decode the hidden message.
"She wouldn't just write that for nothing..." Xiaojun mutters from behind the couch.
"#10. #2. test. #10. #2. test. #10. #2. test." the members seem to chant, thinking to themselves.
"I got it!" Ten exclaims from the couch, turning and running to his office. Taeyong and Jaehyun quickly follow behind him as the rest of the members look at each other with confusion.
They enter Ten's office, him sliding quickly into a seat with the two boys behind him as he rapidly types things into his computer.
"#10? Ten? That's me. It's a message for me." He explains. "I'd been talking to her for a while about wanting to use our tattoos for more than just a marking, so I developed this electronic ink. She's the only one who has it since I was still testing it." Ten says, continuing to type in his computer.
"Ok and what does that have to do with anything?" Taeyong asks impatiently.
"Tae, the ink can function as a second tracker. I can scan the whole world for it." He says turning back to face the boys with a smirk before spinning back to his computers.
"No way." Jaehyun breathes out, "so you can find her?"
"Yup" Ten responds with a nod of his head. "It's locating her right now." Suddenly his computer beeps, a red dot appearing on the map. The three boys widen their eyes as they survey the location, Taeyong drawing in a sharp breath.
"We're gonna need to call in some backup."
———
Big brain Sungchan.
I was gonna just make this chapter sad but that made me sad so we ending with suspense instead!