Page 81 of A World of our Own

Yeah. He tried calling me this morning.

Becka

And????

[Sent 23:44]

I sent it to voicemail

The sound of raucous laughter made me look up across the VIP section. Everyone was having a great time, but I was sat in the corner, out of the way. I was not in the mood to be here, at this club, celebrating the conclusion of the Toronto leg, but how do you say no when a member of the group asks you to come? In this case, Ace. I’d originally said no, but he’d pouted, and kept bringing it up backstage, until I’d eventually given in.

I watched him now, slamming back drinks as if he was dying of thirst, and felt a twinge of concern. He’d been exhausted after the concert. They all were, all the time, but Ace had uncharacteristically fallen asleep between soundcheck and the concert, and then again afterwards – too tired to even take off his own makeup. His stylist had done it for him while he’d slept in the chair.

They worked too hard.

I sighed and turned back to my phone.

Becka

Woojin called me this morning, too. Maybe they’re talking about us.

[Sent 23:47]

I choked on my cider.

An hour later, when the group was preparing to leave, I didn’t try to stifle my yawn. I was shoving my phone into my bag when Lee appeared in front of me, leaning in so I could hear him over the thudding music.

“Kaiya, have you seen Ace?”

I looked up, frowning. “No. He’s not with you guys?” I looked over his shoulder to where the rest of the group and entourage were. No one looked alarmed. “Have you tried calling him?”

“He went to the bathroom and left his phone behind. I haven’t seen him for a while, and he’s not in the bathroom anymore,” he said, eyes pinched. “I didn’t want to tell Manager Youngsoo. He’ll get in trouble.”

I nodded once. None of the members could exactly go wandering around the club looking for him without attracting attention.

“Okay. I’ll look. Stay with everyone else.”

I put a hand on Lee’s forearm and as discreetly as I could, I left the VIP area. People were watching. People were always watching, but I couldn’t bring myself to care at that moment.

I wound my way through the thick crowds on the dance floor and to the bar. I didn’t see him, and frankly, if he had been somewhere as public as that, the commotion would have made him easy to spot. I grew increasingly uneasy as I walked around the club.

I made my way outside, the cold air hitting me like a physical blow after the hot, stuffy inside. People crowded the street, chatting, laughing drunkenly, hailing cabs. Normal behaviour.

I walked the perimeter, reasoning that the further I walked, the more unlikely it would be to find Ace out here, because why would he have wandered out this far? I was nearly the entire way around the club and to the small, private parking lot where the minibus waited. That’s when I saw the small group of people clumped together next to it.

“Oh, fuck,” I muttered, quickening my steps.

I couldn’t see anything from this distance, but my gut didn’t need to see anything to know something was up. And sure enough, the closer I got, the more I could make out of their words.

“Ace-oppa,” a woman called, laughing. “Can I have a selfie with you?”

I pulled out my phone and sent Joon a message.

Get security to the minibus. NOW.