"Long day, my friend?"

Jiwook smiled halfheartedly at the bartender. "Yeah, somewhat." The day had continued uneventfully. Jiwook did not have a chance to discuss further with Cheolsu, because every spare moment, they were either in the presence of a manager, a sound engineer, or a bandmate. When the boys decided to go to the bar, Cheolsu had given Jiwook a look, silently communicating that they could use the bar as cover to discuss further. Cheolsu was currently wrangling the younger bandmates and making sure they weren't overspending their limited funds.

The bartender, Siu, was a pleasant man on the younger end of middle-aged. He pushed Jiwook's favorite drink across the bar - a Manhattan. It had been a private joke for them for the past five or so years that Siu had worked there, but it was a damn good cocktail.

"I heard about Seojin," Siu said despondently. "I'm so sorry."

"She'll turn up," Jiwook said, trying to hide his stress. He couldn't get the bracelet out of his head. He took a sip of the drink and blinked. "A double?"

"You looked like you needed it." The bartender smiled and attended to other patrons.

Cheolsu finally managed to separate herself from the other bandmates and came over to Jiwook. He himself was holding a red cocktail.

"Is that a cosmo? Did you finally bite the bullet and decide to drink?" Jiwook teased.

Cheolsu took the comment the way it was intended and smiled. "No, it's raspberry lemonade. Someone needs to drive us home."

"Yeah, but you can put that responsibility on us."

"And lose the opportunity to be the short person driving the Audi? Never."

Jiwook grinned, concealing the fact that this argument was a regular occurrence. Cheolsu never drank alcohol, and never said why. He didn't dislike the taste, as Jiwook had caught him eating tequila-flavored chocolates the last time they were in America. But anything that could inebriate him, he avoided.

"What did you find? You seemed shaken when you came back in."

Jiwook took a swig of his drink for confidence. "Her bracelet."

Cheolsu's eyes went wide. "Fuck."

Jiwook nodded.

"Did she get into a fight?!"

"Not that I know of. She just left abruptly."

Cheolsu took a swig from his drink as though it did have alcohol. "Maybe she was being held hostage by her boyfriend or something?"

Jiwook shook his head. "Unlikely, based on everything she said about him, he didn't seem like the type." He stopped himself from saying, "And I've met the guy, he's way too dedicated to her."

The copper-skinned man sighed, and Jiwook absently noticed how even in the dim light of an upscale bar, he looked like he was glowing. "I really hope you're right. But I can't think of anyone else who would do something like that to her."

"I mean...there's a chance it was random. The other disappearances were all random."

"Unless there's a pattern we're not noticing," Cheolsu rebutted.

"Fair. But I've stared at the list of confirmed kidnappings, and they seem random."

"Nothing is ever that random. The reason might not be relevant to us, but there's always a reason."

Jiwook pondered that for a moment. He obviously couldn't tell Cheolsu that the Listeners were likely the connection. There was a very good chance that if Seojin was connected to them, the others were too.

"HYUNG!" Namil yelled.

"WHICH ONE?!" Cheolsu walked back to where the other members were to hear their thoughts.

Jiwook stared at what remained of his Manhattan, the liquor and vermouth beginning to separate. He hadn't told Siu that he hasn't missed New York in a very long time.

The scar between his ribs burns.

A glass of water and some chicken later, Jiwook quietly entered the dorm. The other members scattered off, Cheoslu giving Jiwook a comforting pat on the shoulder before vanishing into his room. Jiwook felt the touch linger a fraction of a second longer, and his heart skip a beat as a result.

The leader of 1SH0T sighed longingly and despondently as soon as the door to his room was closed. He took off his jacket and moved to sit on the small couch his room had for guests, not that anyone particularly cared to enter his room except the men he'd lived with for years.

"Did you find anything in her office?"

Well, someone else cared to enter his room, apparently. Jiwook jumped up and stifled a scream. Yun Seo was standing behind him, and looked startled at Jiwook's reaction. He had, most assuredly, not been in the room when he entered.

"Don't sneak up on people like that!" Jiwook whisper-yelled. He stared at the man, trying to examine his appearance. He was wearing a similar suit to the one he wore last time they met, almost as exact to the point that Jiwook did another double take, only to realize this suit was gray, and his previous suit had been red. At least Yun Seo changed his clothes to maintain the facade of humanity. Not only that, Jiwook saw that his skin was gold, but visibly had cold undertones. This when coupled with his stormcloud-colored eyes made him beautiful in an unearthly way.

"Apologies," Yun Seo said, earnestness piercing his even voice. "I thought you were used to those with my gifts."

"Used to, yes, but not in my apartment, what were you thinking?! What if the others hear you?!"

"They won't."

Jiwook's eyes went wide. Oh god, what if Yun Seo had coiled them?!

Yun Seo read the expression on his face and understood what he was thinking. "Oh...do not be concerned, I do not coil without explicit consent." He held his hand out for Jiwook to see. The idol watched as mist came off of his fingertips. "It's called a Veil. It creates a pocket of reality where we are...ignored."

Jiwook stared, gobsmacked. Yun Seo had just described reality warping as though it was the most normal thing on the planet. It was also alarming that there was a sigil of some kind, partially obscured by the mist so as not to be recognizable. "Is...is that advanced magic or something?"

"Not quite." The Listener closed his hand. "It's more like...holding your breath. It takes substantial concentration to maintain, and a considerable amount of practice to achieve."

Jiwook decided that the idea of reality warping being as difficult as sitting at the bottom of a swimming pool for Listeners was something he'd have to contend with later. He sighed loudly and plopped on the couch, allowing his voice to carry normally. "And here I thought I knew everything about Listeners."

"You know our culture more than most," Yun Seo affirmed. "We keep most of our powers close to the chest."

How ironic, considering Jiwook did much the same. "Well...to answer your question, yes I did." Jiwook reached into his pocket and held up the bracelet.

For the first time, Jiwook saw more than passive concern and emotion on Yun Seo's face. He was over in a blink, though this time Jiwook couldn't tell if it was because he just moved quickly or moved supernaturally. He gently reached for the bracelet, but he was almost reverent, like he was worried about snatching it from Jiwook's hands. Jiwook silently handed him the bracelet, and Yun Seo held it like it would break from being held too long.

"...where did you find it?" Yun Seo asked softly.

"It was wrapped around a doorstop."

The Listener stared at it for a long time. Jiwook watched as thousands of emotions flickered across his eyes while his lips stayed pressed in a tight line.

Finally, his expression settled on pain, and Yun Seo whispered, "How didn't I notice she wasn't wearing it when she was in the car?"

Jiwook took a second to internalize exactly what Yun Seo was saying. This being that was still so beyond his understanding was...blaming himself. He was blaming himself for not noticing something wrong with Seojin. He was agonizing over that fact.

The idol found himself putting a hand on the Listener's shoulder. Yun Seo's head shot up in confusion.

"You can't blame yourself for what you did or didn't do, especially if Seojin didn't tell you," Jiwook said gently. "You know she only said what she wanted people to hear."

Yun Seo nodded. Jiwook wondered if as a human, Yun Seo had ever looked this meek.

"So, she was trying to send a message. What message? Let's start there." Jiwook channeled Cheolsu's pragmatism as a mode of comfort, hoping it worked.

Yun Seo looked back at the bracelet. "There are...two things that come to mind. Both can be true at once, however."

"Okay, what are they?"

"One, that she didn't go of her own free will. Someone or something was coming for her."

"You don't think it was a Listener that took her?"

Yun Seo stepped out of Jiwook's grasp in order to pace. "Contrary to the way our analogs are depicted, we have significant variation within our kind. It is entirely likely that the being that took her was a Listener that had abilities I am unaware of, or that it was another creature entirely."

Jiwook cocked his head. "You...think of yourself as a creature?"

"I do not think of myself as human, if that is what you are asking. I am merely speculating."

The idol nodded. "So...what abilities could cause her to disappear?"

"Before we consider this angle, let us consider the second angle." Yun Seo stopped his pacing only for a moment. "There is a chance that she was worried that whatever was coming for her would come for Haru next."

That...that wasn't good. "She wanted us to protect Haru."

Yun Seo resumed his pacing. "Yes. Hence why I believe she was communicating both to us."

"I don't have a way to reach her sister."

"We do not need to. We can make sure she is protected from a distance."

Jiwook nodded, thinking it best not to argue or bring up the family situation. If Yun Seo knew about Haru, and the bracelet, that meant he knew enough. "Okay...what about the powers? You said there is variation?"

"Yes. You said it was wrapped around the doorstop?"

"Yes."

"Well, what's another word for wrapped?"

Jiwook took a second, then swallowed as he realized. "Coiled."

"My thoughts exactly."

The thought made Jiwook's skin crawl. Coiling was...invasive. A Listener pierced a person with threads, pulling on the soul until the desired outcome is achieved, choking the will out of the person until nothing was left. For his friend to be experiencing that...the thought disgusted him.

"Normally, Listeners leave traces when they coil," Yun Seo continued. "However, I sensed nothing, nor did she tell me she felt anything outright. Either what coiled her was not a Listener, or--"

"Or they're too damn good at it," Jiwook interrupted.

Yun Seo stopped pacing. He looked at his hand that was holding the bracelet. The mist coming off it was less now. "We don't have much more time to discuss. I suggest we meet again very soon."

"My turf, or yours?"

"Yours." Yun Seo gently set the bracelet on the dresser before turning back to Jiwook. "If the culprit is one of mine, they cannot know of this. I will come find you."

"You're not taking the bracelet?"

"It was a clue left for you. Besides...it goes without saying that Haru is unlikely to trust me, and far more likely to trust you." Yun Seo smiled softly, hundred of years and thousands of lives glistening in his gray orbs. "If it does come to pass that we have to contact her directly, you should be the one to give it to her."

Jiwook stared at Yun Seo. "You are...very different from most other Listeners I've met."

"Most?"

Jiwook nodded. A thought whispered in the back of his mind - I've only ever met one like you. He swallowed and began speaking again, some of his apprehension having melted away. "Before you go...one last thing. I realized that whoever has been targeting people might not be targeting randomly. He might be targeting people connected to Listeners."

Yun Seo nodded. "I had a feeling that might be the case. I have not found anything to substantiate that, but I will look harder. Thank you, I will be in touch."

The mist got thicker, and in an instant, Yun Seo was gone.

As Jiwook heard the door click open and Minwoo's voice asking him some logistical question about tomorrow, he saw the remnants of the mist trace the edge of the door before vanishing entirely. He wondered if Seojin saw this side of Yun Seo - a being that could change reality as he knew it, just passing through.