Chapter Text
In the haze and the darkness, the city lights were but splotches of wavering yellow. Blots of green and red and blue here and there, turning on and off and on again, just like the little blinking dots twinkling in the sky.
But there was one light, the brightest and the biggest, that sat unmoving, never winking, never ceasing, amidst the stars.
Under that big, bright light, a little man stood. His eyes, though seemingly clouded, shone as fiercely as any star in the galaxy. In his hand was his phone, its screen flickering to life, then fell dead, then flickered up once more, and continued incessantly. He frowned at it, passing his fingers over and over it again until finally, the little horizontal bars with tiny green icons and jumbled words blacked out, replaced with a brilliant green background, a luminous chat bubble in the center. Then it too faded away to a four-digit lock screen, and the man's fingers automatically tapped at the numbers 0112. There was a soft click, and the screen burst into lines and lines of white bubbles and blurred characters. What with all the question marks and exclamation points, they looked quite urgent.
Mind clouded and thoughts blending, he picked up only a few of the words on his glittery screen. Words like "Kyungsoo" and "Squishy" and "Soo"; others like "drunk" and "missing" and "dorms"; and finally like "worried" and "scared" and "anxious".
The little brunette giggled to himself and, rather painstakingly, typed "I'm OK" and sent it. Then he slipped the phone, still bright, into his pocket and hummed softly a tune that had been stuck in the back of his head. He walked on.
In his coat pocket, his phone pinged endlessly and violently.
21:46
Jongin: HES GONE SOOS GONE WHAT DO I DO???
Chanyeol: kai calm down squishy'll be fine
Baekhyun: yeah kai calm down
Jongin: HE WAS RIGHT NEXT TO ME!!! NOW WHAT ILOSTHIM!
Minseok: Jongin, please.
Jongin: PLS MY ASS XIUMIN
Jongin: HYUNG
Minseok: Little shit
Sehun: pffft
Sehun: no srsly kai calm down
Jongin: IM TRYING!!!! I CANT IM SCARED
Zitao: ...
Jongin: he's not in the dorms what NOW WHAT NOW
Yixing: Ah, Jongin, maybe I can be of help? (*´∀`*)
Jongin: THANKS BUT NO THANKS IM SORRY HYUNG
Junmyeon: WHAT DO YOU MEAN ANOTHER KID IS MISSING??!!
Baekhyun: shit
Chanyeol: here we go
Yixing: Guys, is Kyungsoo really gone? ( ﾟдﾟ)
Yixing: You're worrying me ヽ(*´Д｀*)ﾉ
Minseok: Great, now you've all made Lay sad.
Kyungsoo: I'm ok
Jongin: oh lordoh GOD SOO WHERE ARE YOU
Junmyeon: Kyungsoo whERE ARE YOU
21:48
"Shit, shit, shit, shitshitshit..." Kai ran his fingers on and on and on through his shock of rhubarb hair. He was perspiring, and it was cold.
Next to him on the couch, Chen was looking at him funny while scrolling through their group chat. "Don't worry. Squishy'll be fine, he's not one to get himself into trouble."
"No, but—" Kai stood up abruptly and paced the floor, his hand never left his hair. "He was drunk."
"He had, like, two shots." Chen continued to scroll. "Man, is Suho losin' it."
"I don't blame him." Kai's voice quavered. "But Soo's alcohol tolerance is so low it's sad. Gods, where could he be?"
"How did we even lose him?" Chen asked, looking up from his phone.
"We drank. I went to the bathroom. You went to fetch your phone, and...and—" Kai waved his hands helplessly.
Click.
Kai spun, and Chen's head swiveled towards the unlocking front door.
Xiumin stepped in, shaking half-melted snow from his hair so that his hair bounced about, and flicked little white flecks off his shoulders. He exhaled sharply. "Well, you two did a real bang-up job." He then glared pointedly at Kai. "Remember your honorifics next time."
Kai hung his head. "Sorry."
Xiumin kicked his shoes off and collapsed on the couch across Chen's lap. "Now what are you gonna do? Shouldn't you be out looking for him already?"
"Um..." Kai lifted a hand. "But where?"
"Well, I don't know!" Xiumin exclaimed. "Check the vicinity. He couldn't've gone far."
There was another click of the door opening. This time, Chanyeol and Baekhyun entered, looking a cross between grim and amused.
"How's the man-hunt going?" Baekhyun asked.
"I dunno, you tell me," said Kai, rather scathingly.
"Just asking," Baekhyun murmured.
Chen was still scrolling through his phone, which was making quiet popping sounds each time a new message appeared. "Hey, guys, check it. Check the group chat. Squishy's typing something."
Kai's phone was in his hand in a flash, awaiting any new message.
21:53
Junmyeon: So none of you have seen Kyungsoo?
Yixing: No, sorry, Suho (´Ａ｀。)
Junmyeon: Don't apologize lay
Junmyeon: not your fault
Junmyeon: why are you all so quiet?
Jongdae: most of us are at the dorms right now
Zitao: guys look, ksoo's back online
Sehun: why does it take him so long to type
Jongdae: he's drunk you dumbass
Kyungsoo: mooon is p rettuy
Sehun: wat
21:54
"What's that supposed to mean?" Baekhyun squinted at his phone. "Moon is what now?"
"Pretty," Kai responded immediately. "Moon is pretty. He's somewhere outdoors. Oh jeez, he's gonna freeze to death! His coat is still here!" Kai burst into his room, slipped on layers of jackets, snatched a backpack and an extra coat, and rushed to the kitchen to fill a thermos with hot water. He thrust everything in the pack, threw a scarf around his neck, and opened the door. "I'm gonna go find him." And he was gone.
"Wait—" Xiumin didn't get to finish.
"We'll go with him," Chanyeol said. He grabbed Baekhyun by the arm and hastened after Kai.
Xiumin looked at Chen. "I guess we'd better band together, huh?"
"Aw, yes!" Chen grinned. "Search Party XiuChen is ready for action!"
Xiumin groaned. "Don't put it that way, or you're on your own."
The little brunette man walked on.
It was darker. The little blinking lights up high had mostly disappeared, but there was one patch of brightness that still remained because of the moon. It was a nice moon—full, white, undimmed—despite the thick clouds passing by.
A song still played in his head, something of December, he hummed along with it, not remembering the lyrics but knowing the melody.
As he listened to his own song paired with the soft thud, thud, thud of his feet over the pavement, he felt like someone was brushing their cold fingers over his exposed cheeks, it wasn't too pleasant, but the occasional soft, wet sting that fell from above was.
Kyungsoo slipped his phone into his pocket. Would they be able to find him? Maybe.
Jongin will.
Soo likes the river, the Han River. He likes taking walks along the river.
Kai's feet pounded against the sidewalk, tremors traveling up and down his body. A ways behind him, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were struggling to keep up, Kai could hear them yelling.
"Kai, slow down!" Baekhyun was wailing. "I can't—" He puffed hard.
Chanyeol, on the other hand, was a bit more helpful. "Kyungsoo!" he shouted. "Kyungsoo! D.O.-yah! SQUISHY!" Well, just a bit. "Squishy! Where are you?"
"Kyungsoo!" Kai screamed at the top of his lungs, so loudly his voice cracked. "KYUNGSOO!"
"Kyungsoo! KYUNGSOO!"
He couldn't even see the face of the person screaming, especially not in his drunken state, but it was a voice he knew all too well, so well that the response came automatically. He turned towards the direction of the voice and stumbled a couple of steps. The body hit him like a tidal wave, strong arms encircled his small frame, a sense of lovingness enveloped him.
"Soo..." Tender fingers roamed every inch of his face, caressed his cheeks, traced the outline of his heart-shaped lips, padded over his eyelids. The fingers were quivering terribly. "You gave me quite the scare..."
Kyungsoo nodded absentmindedly.
"You didn't even bring a coat, or gloves, or a scarf."
Yet again he bobbed his head.
"You're so cold." Kai pulled the extra coat out and slipped it over Kyungsoo's shoulders, unwrapped the scarf from his own neck and threw it around Kyungsoo's. "...lips chapped. Have some water."
Kyungsoo watched Kai fumble for a thermos, pour out water that steamed in the air. He dipped his head to catch the brim of the cup when Kai brought it up to him, smacking his lips at the sudden heat.
"Come on." Kai wrapped a protective arm around Kyungsoo. "Let's get you home." A pair of lips pressed against his temple, where warmth spread and sent a jolt down his spine.
Kyungsoo smiled.