Yongguk's mind went blank, and the entire group stiffened. No passport? If he had no passport, then he might be mistaken for an illegal immigrant. What if he was imprisoned or kept from performing their American concert because he had no identification? What if he couldn't come back to Korea and ended up being stuck in America? What if he was expelled from B.A.P on accounts of being an imposter? Yongguk mutely turned to face Himchan, relieved to see that Himchan was already taking control of the situation.
"D-did you have it when we got on and off the plane?" Himchan asked.
"Yeah," Zelo muttered.
"Well, did you put it in your pocket after we got out of the airport?" Himchan asked again, his voice rising slightly as tensions rose. "Or did you put it in your wallet?"
"My pocket," Zelo said.
"Then it probably dropped out somewhere between then and now," Himchan said.
"But where?" Zelo said, beginning to sound frantic.
Then suddenly, everyone began blurting out the group's worst fears.
"What if he can't come back to Korea?" Daehyun asked.
"Does this mean he won't be able to perform with us?" Youngjae asked.
"Not able to perform?" Zelo nearly cried out. "What — "
"Enough!" Jongup suddenly yelled. "Everyone just calm down, okay? We'll get through this; we're B.A.P and always fighting. It's not the end of the world."
Everyone silently nodded and let out a group sigh to calm down.
"Jongup's right," Youngjae said after a few seconds. "All we have to do is find a police station and report it missing."
Yongguk nodded and vaguely turned to Himchan as Himchan took out his phone, quickly using the internet to locate the nearest police station. Then they were off, running toward the police station. The group made it to the station in record time, throwing open the doors in haste and looking as though they were still running from fans.
"What's the problem?" one of the police officers asked.
Yongguk turned to see everyone looking at him expectantly, as though he'd be able to convey the problem to an English-speaking American. "We . . . B.A.P . . . no speak English . . . speak Korean."
The police officer nodded and quickly used his radio to call in another police officer. Within seconds a Korean police officer in from a nearby hallway, already speaking Korean.
"What seems to be the problem?" he asked.
"Our friend, he lost his passport," Yongguk said. "Can you help us find it?"
The Korean officer turned to the other American standing there and repeated the words in English. Then he turned back to B.A.P.
"We're going to bring in a German shepherd dog . . . a tracking dog, to find what your friend lost. All right?"
"That's great," Yongguk said. Within minutes a third police officer showed up, this one bringing an anxious German shepherd with him. The dog sat down and waited for orders.
"Please don't pet him," the officer said to Daehyun as Daehyun reached out to pet the dog. "He's a work dog only."
Youngjae smacked Daehyun on the head.
"Sorry," Daehyun said, bowing.
"Can we have something of your friend's? Some article of clothing or something the dog can have that has your scent?" the Korean officer asked.
Zelo looked at the clothes on his body for a moment, then took off his hat and handed it to the man with the German shepherd. The dog sniffed the hat for a moment, then sniffed Zelo himself. Then the dog was at the doors to the police station, whining and trying to open the door with his paw.
"If we find anything, I'll call you," the police officer with the German shepherd said. "If you could just give me your phone number . . . "
Yongguk quickly took the phone from the police officer and programmed his number into the phone. Then the door opened and the officer and dog jogged down the street.
"You six can leave," the Korean officer said. "If we find anything, we'll let you know, all right?"
"Yes, sir. Thank you." Everyone bowed then and left the police station. The six of them kept walking the streets, trying to continue small talk, but for some reason their words were strained. The Los Angeles sun didn't seem to be as joyful as before. It was too hot, too humid.
"Come on, Daehyun," Youngjae was saying. "You know that you'd be able to eat more than all of us combined."
"Zelo would give me a run for my money," Daehyun said. "Right, Zelo?"
"Mmm," Zelo said blandly, head down.
"Hey, Zelo, you want a piggy back?" Jongup asked.
"Uh-uh."
"Why don't we play Reverse?" Himchan suggested. "Come on, you love being the oldest and getting back at me and Yongguk, Zelo . . . I mean, Zelo-hyung."
"It's the only time where I'll be the youngest in the group," Yongguk said slyly.
"And you can say anything you want," Himchan added. "You can put us down as much as you want."
"No, thanks," Zelo muttered.
Zelo's lack of enthusiasm was felt by the entire group, and soon everyone fell into a depressed silence.
"Don't worry, Zelo," Himchan said, rubbing Zelo's back. "We'll find your passport."
"And they can't do anything to you when you have us to watch your back," Yongguk added, lifting Zelo's baseball cap briefly and tousling his hair. "What are they going to do, imprison you? You're famous!"
"But I lost my passport!" Zelo exploded. "I lost something and I made you guys have to help me find it. I made it really hard on all of you, and today was supposed to be fun." He bowed deeply to everyone and started shaking again. "I'm sorry, guys."
Yongguk reached over and knuckled Zelo's chin. "Don't feel bad, Zelo. We — " Yongguk paused when he felt Himchan nudging him. He silently glanced at Himchan, then followed Himchan's eyes to see what he was looking at. His mouth fell open in silence. Quietly Yongguk got everyone else's attention except Zelo and directed them to the same thing he and Himchan had noticed. Now everyone was smiling.
After a few seconds, Zelo sniffed and looked up. When he noticed everyone's faces, he looked incredibly hurt. "Are you making fun of me?" he asked brokenly.
"No!" Yongguk said abruptly. Then he smiled. "Zelo . . . look."
Zelo followed everyone's gestures, and his face lit up like a young child's on Christmas morning. For there on the ground, sat his passport. Zelo picked up the passport and held it up in the air like a trophy, jumping up and down excitedly and screaming in delight. Everyone followed suit, and soon they were all jumping up and down like little children. The five of them pounded Zelo on the back and hugged him, and they were just finishing up their celebration when the police officer with the German shepherd came running around the corner.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Zelo held up his passport, beaming with delight.
"You found it, then," the police officer wheezed. "And here I thought someone was being murdered."
"The only thing that's been murdered is our depression," Himchan said.
Yongguk punched Zelo once again, and after a second celebration of delight, they continued on. Zelo couldn't contain his excitement and kept running circles around the group, jumping and doing cartwheels every now and then for fun.
"He's been depressed for too long," Himchan muttered.
"Yeah, ten minutes is way too long for him," Yongguk laughed. Suddenly, Yongguk's phone rang, and he picked it up and heard their manager on the other line.
"Where are you guys?"
"Near the south end of Los Angeles," Yongguk said, glancing around and locating a street sign. "Martin Street. We walked pretty far."
"I know where that is, yeah, and I hope you've taken some time to practice. Anyway, it's time to check into the hotel. We'll be over there in a minute or two to pick you up, all right?"
"Okay." Yongguk hung up and faced his team. "We'll be riding back to the hotel in a few minutes or so."
"Already?" Zelo asked. "Aw, I wanted to get some ice cream while we were in Los Angeles! Do you think we could get some ice cream while we're here, Yongguk-hyung?"
Yongguk frowned, glancing around and not seeing any ice cream stores nearby. "Sure, Zelo, but later."
Zelo's hopeful expression fell, and Yongguk made sure to quickly rectify the situation.
"Don't worry, Zelo, you'll get your ice cream. We're in America for two weeks, you know."
Zelo looked up at Yongguk and nodded, and Yongguk was relieved to see that he no longer looked disappointed.
Somewhere in the background, Daehyun and Youngjae began singing a song that the two of them invented. It was less of a song and more of a joke that they always sung whenever the group mentioned ice cream, the one American food that their entire group loved.
"I say chocolate, you say ice cream! Chocolate!" Youngjae sang.
"Shut up," Daehyun sang back.
"Chocolate!"
"Shut up," Daehyun said.
"I say ice cream, you say chocolate! Ice cream!" Youngjae said.
"Shut up."
"Ice cream!" Youngjae said.
"You're an idiot," Daehyun laughed.
"Yeah," Youngjae finished, reaching over and punching Daehyun on the shoulder. The two of them were grinning.
Yongguk held back a snort as he heard this song once again. His team could be so weird sometimes. As he opened his mouth to mention which songs they would need to practice that night, a reflective glare down the street caught Yongguk's attention. He turned to see their manager's van driving toward them. "Hey, you five, our ride's here."
The car drove up to them and stopped on the curb, then the passenger window rolled down and out shot a girl's hand. In her hand she held a paper plate with a deep fried onion on it, and Daehyun's eyes instantly widened.
"Look, guys! A fried onion!" Daehyun said, grabbing it and starting to eat as he opened the door to the van and climbed into the car.
Yongguk frowned as the passenger window rolled up, and it confused him even more to see that the car was already moving even though the rest of them hadn't yet gotten into the vehicle. The door wasn't even closed fully yet. And why had the girl sitting in the passenger's seat look so familiar?
Suddenly Youngjae's hand shot out and yanked Daehyun out of the car just before the door closed. The movement was so fast that Daehyun dropped his fried onion on the inside of the car.
"What are you doing?" Daehyun yelled, pushing away from Youngjae. "You made me drop my fried onion!"
"But how did our manager know that you wanted a fried onion?" Youngjae whispered fiercely. "They weren't there!"
"What?" Daehyun said.
"Actually, it's called a blooming onion, Daehyun," the girl said. Then she giggled, and Yongguk knew why he recognized the girl. This wasn't their manager's car at all!
It was a fan's!
Just at that moment, an identical vehicle drove up behind the one that B.A.P had almost climbed into, and out jumped their manager, screaming at them and pulling them away from the fake vehicle.
"Don't get into the car!" he was yelling.
The fake vehicle instantly drove away, and after the group climbed into the correct vehicle and drove back toward the hotel, Daehyun collapsed against Youngjae.
"Thanks, Youngjae," he groaned. "That could've ended horribly. I could've been . . . kidnapped."
"No, problem," Youngjae said. "It just didn't add up. How could our manager know that you wanted a fried onion?"
"It was those girls who were standing on the street corner when you were talking about it," Jongup said. "That's how they knew."
"I can't believe they would pull a stunt like that," Yongguk growled.
"They're supposed to be our fans, not a bunch of freaks," Himchan said.
"I think once this is all over, I'll be glad to go back to Korea," Daehyun said with a sigh.
"Well, already two of us could've been injured, killed, or kidnapped," Yongguk said. "Then we could've had our pictures smeared all across the internet. Zelo might've been stranded in America if we hadn't found his passport."
"Daehyun could've given the fans some great pictures if he had done that splits move during a fan meeting," Himchan said.
Everyone snorted, and Daehyun blushed.
"What was that thing called, anyway?" Youngjae asked. "A booming onion? A booing onion?"
"It was called a 'blooming' onion, great English master," Daehyun said. "Like a flower."
"What a weird language. I could never survive in America," Youngjae said.
"Yeah," Daehyun said. "You'd ask for an onion and they'd give you a bomb."
"And now your loof is on fire," Youngjae snorted.
"What's a loof?" Zelo asked.
"He means roof," Yongguk said. "But, Youngjae, during our fan chat once we got off the plane, what was your answer when that girl asked you what inspires you?"
"Inspires?" Youngjae asked. "In spiders? Infires?"
"Infires, man!" Daehyun said, reaching over and pounding Youngjae on the back.
"It's inspires," Yongguk corrected.
Daehyun pounded Youngjae on the back once again while Youngjae grinned. "Inspires, man!"
Then the entire group caught on. As one, they all shouted the joke in unison,
"It's Spiderman!"
"We're here, you six," their manager said, interrupting their jokes.
As B.A.P got out of the car, Yongguk began another pun using the English language. It was amazing how easily the English language came to their group when they were simply having fun, verses running from fans and trying to hide in a janitorial closet.
"I want an apple," Yongguk said.
"You want a pole?" Jongup asked.
"Pull who?" Youngjae said.
"Poor you," Yongguk finished.
"Come on, let's get on our disguises and go into the hotel," Himchan said.
"This guy is what?" Zelo asked as he placed his baseball cap on.
"The sky is wet?" Yongguk asked. "Is it going to rain?"
"Where's the train?" Jongup said.
"What drain?" Youngjae said.
"I'm wondering, too," Daehyun said. "What's the answer?"
"If there are ants here, I don't want to stay," Himchan said.
"Our aunt's here? That's news to me, but I'm toasty warm, too," Yongguk said. "Anyway, Himchan's right, gang. Let's go in."
"Who's snoozing?" Zelo asked as they walked in.
The six had to stop this game as they checked into the hotel, and they made sure their disguises were in place as they took their room keys and walked into the hotel lobby.
"At least now we won't have to worry about being recognized," Daehyun said as they all sat down in the lobby.
"If we don't even know what hotel we're staying at," Himchan said, "how will the fans know?"
"Don't worry, Himchan. They'd find a way," Yongguk said. He glanced over at Zelo to see that Zelo was already bored and in the middle of getting up to dance. "Hey, Zelo, don't start dancing or anything, at least until we get to our hotel rooms," Yongguk said, causing Zelo to pause. "If there's one thing that'll get you recognized faster than your dyed hair, it's you dancing the moves to 'Power' or something like that. That goes for all of you. Got it?"
"Yes, hyung," Zelo said, sagging a bit.
"Can Zelo and I go look around?" Jongup asked. "I think I saw one of our albums in the hotel's gift shop."
"Yeah, and I saw some really great restaurants right across from our hotel," Daehyun said, standing up as well. "Can me and Youngjae check it out?"
Himchan folded his arms and nodded. "Be back here in a half hour, though. I don't want you guys getting into trouble."
With a small cheer, the group went their separate ways while Himchan and Yongguk sank deeper into their chairs.
"You actually trust that they won't get into trouble?" Yongguk asked.
Himchan shrugged. "Maybe. Not really. But man, after today, I need a break. I almost get killed, we nearly bring home a hidden camera, Zelo loses his passport, and Daehyun . . . I'm looking forward to the concert and publicity, don't get me wrong, but . . . I can't wait to get back to Korea."
"You got that right," Yongguk said.
Himchan closed his eyes and leaned on Yongguk's shoulder. "Wake me up when they get back."
"I won't need to wake you up," Yongguk said.
"That's true," Himchan said.
Yongguk busied himself by using his phone to look at their previous performances, noting any mistakes that the group had made that would need correcting. By now Himchan had fallen asleep, and Yongguk himself felt tiredness begin to drag at his eyelids.
"No, it's my orange juice!"
With a snort, Yongguk's head jerked back up as he saw Zelo and Jongup come into the room, Zelo's running away from Jongup and holding a Styrofoam cup just out of Jongup's reach. Beside him, Himchan groaned and opened his eyes.
"Not much sleep, huh?" Yongguk asked.
"Come on, Zelo. Just give me a drink, would you?" Jongup asked, making a grab for the cup in Zelo's hand.
"No!" Zelo said, taking a sip. "this is my orange juice!"
"Well then tell me where I can go get some for myself," Jongup said.
"You can't, this was the last they had," Zelo said, taking another sip. "It's mine!"
"Come on, Zelo. Just — "
Yongguk watched as Jongup finally grabbed the cup that Zelo held, accidentally tearing it two and spilling the orange juice all over the hotel's carpet.
Zelo and Jongup froze, but Himchan was up in a flash.
"You two are going to clean that mess up," he said quietly. "And you're going to do it without arguing. Is that clear?"
Even though Zelo was taller than Jongup, he was now hiding behind Jongup. Without another word from either of them, both Zelo and Jongup nodded. Then the two of them bowed and raced off to the bathroom to get paper towels, water, and soap.
"They'll be the death of this perfect face of mine," Himchan groaned, taking a seat next to Yongguk again.
"Don't worry, it was an accident," Yongguk said.
"Sometimes I feel like the mom of this group," Himchan groaned as Jongup returned and began carefully wiping up the juice they'd spilled. "Where's Zelo, Jongup? He's not trying to escape from work, is he?"
Jongup shrugged. "It's a bathroom, isn't it?"
"Look at it this way, Himchan," Yongguk pointed out. "At least you can better appreciate your own mother."
"That's true."
"So, Jongup, how did it happen?" Himchan asked as Jongup continued to clean up the spill.
"Well, I was looking through the gifts and Zelo ran off because he thought he saw a poster of B.A.P being advertised on one of the hotel walls. I didn't come with because I was looking at this cool necklace, and when Zelo came back he was carrying the orange juice," Jongup said.
"And there wasn't any for you?" Yongguk asked.
Jongup shook his head, then glanced over his shoulder and waved.
Yongguk and Himchan looked and saw Zelo returning to the scene of the crime. He bowed slightly.