Three hours had passed since the announcement, but they were still missing. Meanwhile, Vin Jin, Sally, and Jenny had also checked Baki and Seongji's room, but it was locked.
As they were thinking about what to do, Sally suddenly exclaimed, "Hey! We're doing this wrong! Let's search the club instead. Someone must have seen them, right?!"
Vin Jin cursed, "Shit! How did we miss something so simple? Let's go."
They entered the club again. Since it was late at night, the club was crowded. They tried asking a few people, but everyone was too absorbed in their own world. Suddenly, Vin Jin had an idea. "Hey, didn't we sit across from the bar? The bartender probably saw them. Let's go find him."
They walked toward the bar and took their seats. Vin Jin flagged down one of the bartenders. "Hey, can you help us with something?"
The bartender asked, "Yes, sir. What drink would you like?"
Vin Jin shook his head. "I don't want a drink." He pointed at the table where they'd sat earlier. "My friends and I were sitting there a few hours ago, but they disappeared while I was in the washroom. Did you see them?"
The bartender shook his head. "No, sir. I just started my shift. Another guy was here before me."
Vin Jin immediately asked, "Where did he go? Can you tell me his name?"
The bartender nodded. "He should be in one of the employee cabins. His name is Minyul Cheon."
Vin Jin stood up. "Thanks, man!" With that, he left with Sally and Jenny.
---
The three of them hurried through the crowded club. The pulsing music made it difficult to communicate.
"Where are the employee areas usually?" Sally shouted over the music.
Jenny pointed toward a corridor partially hidden behind a velvet curtain near the DJ booth. "There! That looks like it leads backstage!"
They pushed through the curtain, and immediately the noise level dropped to something more manageable. The corridor was dimly lit with plain concrete walls. Several doors lined both sides, each labeled with small plaques.
"Storage... Electrical Room... Manager's Office..." Vin Jin read aloud as they passed each door.
"There!" Jenny exclaimed, pointing at a door further down with a handwritten sign taped to it reading "Employee Break Room."
Vin Jin grabbed the handle and pushed the door open.
Inside, three employees sat around a small table playing cards and drinking coffee. The sudden intrusion made them all look up in surprise. Two were women in bartender uniforms, while the third was a young man with long, shaggy black hair and bangs.
"Hey! You can't just barge in here!" one of the women protested, half-rising from her chair.
Vin Jin ignored her, his eyes fixed on the young man. "Are you Minyul Cheon?"
The man blinked in confusion, setting down his cards slowly. "Uh... yeah? Who's asking?"
Sally stepped forward, her expression urgent. "Please, we need your help. You were working the bar earlier tonight, right? Around..." she checked her phone, "around 6 to 9 PM?"
Minyul nodded slowly, still looking wary. "Yeah, that was my shift. Why? Did something happen? Look, if someone's complaining about their drinks, I followed every recipe exactly—"
"No, no, it's not about that," Jenny interrupted, her hands raised placatingly. "We're looking for our friends. They were sitting at that table near the bar—the corner booth with the leather seats."
Sally pulled out her phone, quickly scrolling through photos. "Here!" She thrust the screen toward Minyul, showing a picture of the group from earlier that evening. "These people. Did you see them?"
Minyul leaned forward, squinting at the screen. His expression shifted from confusion to recognition. "Oh! Yeah, actually, I do remember them. Hard to forget that group—it was pretty large."
"That's them!" Sally said excitedly. "What happened to them? Where did they go?"
Minyul rubbed his temple, trying to recall. "Let me think... They were there for a while, pretty quiet actually compared to most groups. Then..." He paused, his brow furrowing. "Then a guy came up to their table. I remember because I was concerned—it looked like it might turn into a confrontation."
Vin Jin's jaw tightened. "What kind of guy?"
"Big guy. Looked like trouble, honestly. I couldn't see him clearly from the bar." Minyul stood up and walked toward a small locker in the corner. "Hold on, let me check the time in the logbook. We're supposed to note any potential incidents."
He pulled out a small notebook and flipped through the pages. "Here it is. I made a note at 8:47 PM—'Group at table 7, possible confrontation.' I was about to call security, but then..."
"Then what?" Jenny pressed, anxiety evident in her voice.
Minyul looked up from the notebook, his expression troubled. "Then they all just left together. Your friends and that other guy. It didn't look like a fight or anything forced—they just stood up and walked out through the back entrance. That's the weird part. Most people leave through the main entrance."
"Back entrance?" Vin Jin repeated, his fists clenching. "Where's that?"
One of the female employees spoke up. "It leads to the alley behind the building. We usually use it for deliveries and smoke breaks. Regular customers shouldn't even know about it unless someone shows them."
Minyul nodded grimly. "Yeah, that's what made me uncomfortable. But they all seemed to be going willingly, so I figured maybe they knew each other? I went on my break right after because my shift was ending. I'm sorry I can't tell you more."
Vin Jin was already heading for the door. "Which way to this back entrance?"
Minyul pointed. "Go back down the hall, take a left, and it's the metal door at the very end."
Vin Jin, Sally, and Jenny were already gone, running down the corridor.
"Shit, shit, shit," Vin Jin cursed as they ran. "This is bad. Why the hell would they go with some random guy?"
Soon they reached the area and found a very large, imposing, muscular man with short, light-colored hair.
Sally gasped. "I've been noticing this person since this morning. He was at the buffet. Then he was also there when we rushed out to find Warren. Is he the person the bartender was talking about?"
Vin Jin rushed at the guy and tackled him down. "YOU BASTARD! WHERE ARE MY FRIENDS?!"