I'm back!
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I immediately sat up from the couch, and skimmed through the article.
"Manager can't contact...not answering calls or emails...nowhere to be found…"
No way. Just a few hours ago she was at the gardens!
I immediately started worrying, feeling my heart beat faster and paced around the living room.
Missing?! Out of contact?! What was going on?
As I paced, the texts I had sent to her last ran through my mind. I couldn't help but think that somehow I felt I played some part in her disappearance. Should I have asked to listen to her? Should I have stayed a little longer? What if the things I said were what made her quit?
I scratched my head with both hands, ruffling and ruining my combed hair and took a deep breath.
Okay, let's take things a little slower here and get all the info before anything else.
Rather than skim the article, I instead decided to read it through carefully, making sure this was a legitimate article and not just gossip or speculation.
"...hasn't returned calls in the last ten hours…silent on social media…no word from her bodyguard..." I read some parts aloud to help myself register it easily. When I reached the end, where the writer expressed his or her concerns over whether or not she was in danger or if she was just being quiet, or maybe if her manager was in on the silence as well. Considering everything seemed to be more speculation than fact, I assumed this was just a gossip article. I then noticed the comment section and slowly scrolled down to read the thoughts of other fans. I had to at least see if they agreed with me.
Most likely fake. Probably in the studio recording her next album.
Yeah. I bet "Silence" is the name of her next album or something.
Agreed. She usually never reveals anything about her material except through her singles. This isn't anything new. That said, there might be a new single soon.
What if something did happen to her though? What's going to happen then?
Nothing we can do about it. Just hope she's okay.
Many of them seemed optimistic, either calling the article gossip or wishing for her safety. It took me a few more minutes to realize scrolling through comments wasn't going to give me anything useful and soon exited the article. I then scanned the internet for more articles, hoping I'd be able to find something more concrete only to be disappointed. Despite trying to relax though, worries came flooding into my mind. What is she really had been kidnapped? I then shook my head at that thought, realizing it was ridiculous.
But was it ridiculous though? She was a famous pop star who most likely had lots of money. Why wouldn't kidnappers hold her for ransom? I shook my head again wildly and yelled into my pillow to get it out of my head. No way! Hell no!
...
Whoops... I mean heck no!
I could barely sleep as thoughts from last night ran through my head. Since I had so much on my mind, there wasn't much room to take in new material from class. Whenever I wasn't being called on to answer questions, I spent most of the day worrying over last night. Well, good thing since tests were near, much of the material was review. Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask my friends for notes later in case there was any new material.
The school day came and went, with life returning back to normal again. Well, as normal as things could be I guess. Alpha and I went back to being friends again and together we all talked about new team plays for games and places to hang out if we ever had the chance.
"Something on your mind?"
I looked up for what felt like the first time in forever and noticed nearly the whole group staring at me. Save for Lazuli of course.
"Not really." I replied to Beta, who I noticed was questioning me. "Sorry about that. I was miles away for a second there."
"Well that sounds familiar and very not suspicious, right?" I heard Alpha say.
"Alpha!" the others remarked.
"Hey, I'm just saying. Besides, you worried for me even when I didn't want you to. The least we could do is do the same for you."
I smiled at them, thankful for their concern.
"Thanks, but I'm fine. There's not really anything going on for me. Just worrying about...a friend."
"Oh yeah?"
I took a short little pause, trying to figure out a way to tell them. I didn't know why I felt it necessary to hide it from them that I was worried about Orchid. Was it because they wouldn't believe me if I said I knew a pop star? Or was it because they'd see me differently? It could've been both but whatever the reason, it just felt right to hold things off for now.
"Yeah…" I nodded. "People say she's missing. So I've been worrying since."
"Aw geez, Ronnie." Joe chimed in. "You're gonna tell us you're worrying about something you can do nothing about?"
"Well, I've tried texting her, but she hasn't replied…"
"Then all you can do is wait. Don't lose your head over something you have no control over."
It was good advice, something I knew I should've taken to heart, but I still continued worrying. Somehow it seemed more comfortable to worry over something or someone you cared about than to just sit back and wait for things to happen. That said, their advice did help me realize I needed to breathe and relax just a little bit.
"Yeah...good point." I sighed, feeling my shoulders slump a little bit, releasing the tension I hadn't noticed earlier.
"Alright everyone, before you leave make sure you grab your test! There were a lot of high scores, as our class average was eighty-two percent! I'm pleasantly surprised! Let's continue on this streak and I hope you guys continue studying hard to keep your scores up!"
Eagerly grabbing my face down English test, I sighed in relief seeing myself just two percent short of a perfect score. It was always relieving to know that sports and clubs weren't really weighing me down. Having to quit any of them due to my failing grades would've sucked, especially after everything that had happened. I also had to keep them up to maintain my scholarship here. My high grades in the past were the only reason I was practically entering this school for free.
"How'd you do?" Alpha asked, patting me on the back.
"98." I replied, probably sounding a little too smug for my own good.
"Well ain't that impressive…" he mumbled.
"Isn't it?" I asked, laughing, holding out my hand, eagerly awaiting the cash that was to be in my hand as a result of me winning a bet I made with him.
"Yeah. Too bad it didn't beat my score of ONE-ZERO-ZERO!"
I froze and processed what he said.
One-zero-zero.
I sighed and slumped down, realizing I was the one who lost the bet and was now 500 mesos down. My first loss, and it was on a pretty big bet too.
"Aw man…" I sighed, slamming the 500 in his palm.
"Woohoo! Victory!" he cheered, running away happily with the 500.
My first loss, and a huge wake up call. Oh well, next time. It'll be on 1000 mesos.
After our tie with PSG, our team rapidly gained fans and some of us even gained admirers, but we also brought in spies as well. One of the downfalls of trying to reach the top was that everyone else tried to drag you back down. It didn't help that practice was getting a lot more intense as the days went on. We were running more, doing more technical drills and moving at an overall faster pace. Now that we were familiar with one another, it became easier for us to communicate and move the ball faster. Thus, we were doing even more running, busting our lungs until it felt they were bursting out of our chests. Since we already knew each other's moves, it was easy for us to counter each other and reveal our individual weaknesses to the spies. I couldn't even count the amount of times I had to slide down and tackle to try to get possession of the ball due to always being dribbled past, no doubt the spies had caught that. Of course, sliding tackles were fine as I had no problem performing them, but the fact that I had to sprint to get momentum every time I performed one was nothing short of tiring. Combine that with the fact that coach pointed out our individual weaknesses out loud as if he didn't care we were being watched, future games would definitely be a hassle to win.
"They're really out to get us." Joe commented, noticing the cameras. "You think they found any weaknesses?"
I shrugged, not really knowing what to say. Was I a weakness? Probably. Out of everyone here, I was the one with the least amount of game experience after all. But I wasn't going to let that knowledge drag me down. I still had to try harder. Knowing that, I blocked the spies from my mind and pushed myself harder during practice.
With the ball between my feet, I mustered up all the energy I had left and sprinted towards the opposing defense. I remained near the sidelines to keep the defenders away from the middle, which was where Alpha was heading. The moment I was close enough, I used up all my strength to perform a cross. It was a little off target, but close enough for him to perform a header, allowing him to score his first goal since his string of misses.
We celebrated loudly, some even lifted him up in praise for getting past it, glad that we had our main goal scorer back.
As practice continued, the number of spectators increased. By the time practice came to an end, cameras basically lined the field.
"Forty...forty-one...Forty-two. That's the number of people watching us right now." our captain said, as we jogged around the field to cool down.
I overheard one of the upperclassmen commenting on the number of cameras and our captain explaining to him that most likely there were two cameras from each school, each capturing a different angle to help them easily come up with a counter strategy.
"Shouldn't we be doing something about that?" I asked our captain. "Wouldn't they just figure out how to beat us from this?"
"No need. Games may be harder, sure, but it'll keep us on our toes and help us fix what we're weak at. It's better we do that rather than avoid addressing the problem." he replied, to which I agreed with, tired as I was. "We wouldn't be doing ourselves a favor if we just let our weaknesses linger."
After cooling down, we all stumbled into the locker room, barely able to stand after the brutal practice. The changing process was slow as my muscles ached for every movement I made. Looking to the side, I noticed Alpha and Joe not doing much better, as they simply sat down on the benches, busy regaining their breath while Eun-Wol changed normally like practice didn't just happen. Painful as it was, the cold air from the outside helped numb the pain a little, making the changing process a little more manageable.
Somehow getting myself back into uniform, I sat on one of the benches in the locker room, waiting for everyone else to finish in hopes they'd be able help walk me out and ease the ache that was all over my body.
Trying to make use of what little time I had left, I decided to drift off. Maybe they'd wake me up after they were done changing. Taking a deep breath, I slowly closed my eyes.
"IS AARON HERE?!"
Suddenly hearing my name being yelled, I jolted up, nearly falling over the bench. Alpha and Eun-Wol quickly grabbed my arms before my back could land on the floor.
"Um...yes?" I replied, after having regained my composure.
One of the upperclassmen, Toby I think was his name, approached our bench.
"There's someone outside calling for you. He's small, wearing a green hood, looks a little jumpy. Sound familiar to you?"
Green hoodie, small and a little jumpy?
Francis?
"Think so. I'll go check just to be sure." I said.
"You need some help?" they asked me as I struggled to get my butt off the bench.
"No thanks." I replied, not really sure how they'd take me talking to someone from a rival school. "I can go myself."
Somehow mustering enough strength to stand on my own, I stumbled out the locker room and made my way to where I was told to go. Sure enough, I spotted the familiar blazer from PSG along with a green hood and...a doll in his hands? He paced back and forth seemingly in worry, and mumbled things I couldn't hear. It took him a while to notice me as I approached him since his gaze was pointed downward, but it didn't take long for him hear me approaching.
By then he rushed over to me immediately and grabbed my arms, huffing and puffing. His grip was surprisingly sturdy, and it felt like my arms were being crushed even as I felt the soft doll between my arm and his hand.
"Please...you...must...help…" he huffed.
Before he could finish, I raised a hand in front of him, silently telling him to slow down.
"Francis, relax and catch your breath. You can't speak properly like this."
He nodded his head while I waited for him to get in his swallows and breaths.
"I'm very sorry Mr. Aaron, but-"
"Just call me Aaron."
"Ah, y-yes. But Milady has requested to see you!"
"Milady?"
"Yes! Yes! My beautiful Lady Orchid!" He then shoved the doll in front of my face and shook it wildly. It took me a while to focus, but I noticed its white, twin-tailed hair and purple eyes.
So it was an Orchid doll. Why am I not surprised? Wait...
Before I could think, my own hands grabbed his arms.
"Orchid?! You know where she is?! Wasn't she reported missing?! How did you find her?"
My mind swam with a million questions, but when I realized how I was acting, I immediately cleaned recoiled and attempted to track back.
"Uh...sorry about that. Forget it. So...are you going to lead me there?"
"Oh yes! But we must hurry! Her residence is quite a ways away on foot and we mustn't keep her waiting long!" he said, dashing towards the front gates.
"Wait, what? On foot? We're not going to take the bus or anything?" I asked, refusing to follow him.
"Well...unfortunately I have no money so…"
...
"You're telling me you ran all the way here, from where she was staying and back?"
Francis slowly nodded, almost as if I was asking him something stupid.
This guy...seriously?
"Let me call my dad to see if he can give us a ride…"
"Oh, no! You shouldn't-!"
"Yes, I should. There's no way I'll be able to manage this on foot fresh out of practice."
Grabbing out my phone, I dialed dad, hoping he'd be understanding. What was I supposed to say to him? Some girl who I knew was in trouble and asked to see me? That same girl I knew being a pop star? How about needing to rescue someone?
"Hello? "
Hearing dad's voice, I froze up, having completely forgotten what I wanted to say.
"Ah, con đừng lo. Ba đang trên đường." (Ah, don't worry. I'm on my way.)
Before I could think of a response, he hung up the phone.
"Well, that's half the problem solved at least." I commented.
It didn't take too long for Alpha, Joe and Eun-Wol to catch up to us, as they were curious just as I was when I was first called out.
"Yo, so you wanna tell us what went on here?"
Francis looked at me nervously, most likely being a little uncomfortable being surrounded by several MapleStory Academy students at once. I simply nodded at him, reassuring him that everything was okay and he could tell them everything. He brightened up immediately and reiterated everything he told me to them. Their reactions were as expected.
"Wait, hold on. THE Orchid?! Like...singer and all?" Alpha asked, making crazy gestures.
"She was reported missing? How did you know where she was?" Eun-Wol chimed in.
"And you're saying she asked for Aaron specifically?" Joe raised an eyebrow.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Francis nodded rapidly.
"Okay...which means that raises even more questions."
All three of them then turned to me and grabbed me by the shoulders.
"You knew a pop star and didn't tell us?!"
"Man, I thought we were friends! How could you keep this from us and not introduce us?!"
"Are you sure you guys get along and she isn't actually using you?"
Well, so much for trying to hold off telling them...
I noticed Joe, whom I heard from last, raising an eyebrow. Obviously, I could understand he was worried and suspicious considering he and Orchid didn't really get along that well from what I saw. I knew I'd have to face him sooner or later, but at the moment I really didn't know what to say that could help ease the rift between them.
"Yeah. I mean, we've talked several times. She's pretty nice." I said, hoping it'd convince him for the time being.
He raised his eyebrow even higher and scrunched his face as if he didn't know me anymore, but eventually he nodded, though still looking unconvinced. Thank goodness he trusted me enough not to ask further. Still, I had a vague feeling this wasn't over.
Soon enough, dad arrived and I pulled Francis along with me to get in the car. Before I could explain what was going on when we got in, dad took initiative.
"Hello there!" he greeted Francis with a smile. "Off to someplace?"
"Ah, yes sir! Down to near Seoul Plaza please!"
Seoul Plaza, the richest district in downtown. Thinking about it now, I had always wanted to give it a little visit. I'm sure dad did too, considering he sometimes looked at pictures of it during his free time. Now there was an excuse for us to go.
"Alrighty! Seoul Plaza." And like that we were off.
During the rest of the ride, dad tried to get as much info out of Francis as possible in the most natural way he could. I guess this was his way of making sure Francis was trustworthy. Poor guy, it didn't seem like he knew he was being interrogated. Knowing dad, if Francis had said one wrong thing, he would've pounced. Then again, maybe not. He probably knew Francis was no threat based on the way he looked.
"Whoa…"
The pictures weren't lying. Bright lights illuminated the entire area and people walked in and out of shops constantly chattering. The grass was neatly trimmed and trees were also wrapped in more lights. Heck, a jog around here would've really sounded nice, especially at nighttime.
"Quick! This way!"
Francis's voice bringing back from my thoughts, I shook my head and followed him through the plaza, making sure to take in all the sights I could. I hadn't been here before and wanted to savor the sights, lest I never had a chance to return.
"We're here! Come in." he whispered, sneaking into wherever we were.
"Why are you whispering?" I asked, as I sneaked along with him, not really knowing why.
"Well…" he then pointed to the sign, which read "Seoul Sauna".
Ohhh…
Wait, she's in here?!
There were two entrances with a sign for each. I couldn't understand the language they were written in, but based on the fact that one was written in blue and another in pink, it wasn't hard to figure out where she was.
"So...what do we do now?" I asked, knowing there was no way we'd be walking into the girl's sauna.
I didn't really need an answer as Francis walked over to the entrance of the women's side and called out to her.
"Lady Orchid! I'm here! I brought him with me!"
It wasn't really a yell, but it was loud enough to elicit shrieks from others in the sauna. I shrunk a little in embarrassment, thankful the receptionist wasn't there to see us. I had to give some respect to Francis though, whether it was due to sheer bravery or unawareness, he still had enough courage to poke his face into the women's room. I, on the other hand, would've been too shy and just texted her. If only that thought had come to me before I could stop him.
I didn't have much time to think as soon a figure emerged from the bath.
"Ugh...Francis is this is another one of your signed posters again…" as she walked through the door, I noticed a towel wrapped around her head and her fully dressed in purple sauna clothes.
She then noticed me as I noticed her and stared.
And we stared...
I could faintly hear Francis singing praises to her for her beauty but at the moment...I felt I really needed to say something. Anything.
"Uhh...hi?" I finally started, waving awkwardly.
A few more seconds passed between us, with the both of us staring at one another until she realized what was happening.
She then yelped and rushed back into the sauna, only to slip and fall onto the floor. Francis and I recoiled a bit as we heard the impact. Others in the sauna must have noticed too, as I heard obvious sounds of surprise and worry.
So much for wanting to see me...
What to do now?
1. Screw the sign! Rush inside the girls sauna and help her up! Get her out of the sauna so we can talk!
2. Wait, hold on. There are other people in the sauna as well. They can help her up. It's not worth the risk charging in there and getting in trouble. I can just wait until she's ready to talk.
3. Leave for now. Whatever she wanted to see me for, it can wait since she's obviously not ready. If she wants to talk, we can do it through text.
Anything you liked? Hated? Please don't hesitate to let me know!