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No answer.
Jaehyun felt his knuckles throb with how hard he rapped against the door; why wasn’t Dongyoung answering? He let his head fall against the door as he unlocked his phone, slumping against it fully when he saw that Dongyoung still hadn’t read his messages. The blue bubbles he had sent looked back at him mockingly, as if Jaehyun was a fool to stay glued to the entrance to Dongyoung’s apartment. He reread the elder’s last message.
*15:29* Dodo: pick me up!! i don’t wanna be late woojae :((
*15.32* Jae: ofc, see u in a few
((read 15:34))
*16:04* Jae: yo answer the dooooor
*16:06* Jae: dongyoung?
*16:13* Jae: yo i’ve been out here for like 10 minutes open uppp
*16:19* Jae: istg the neighbours are hearing me before you :( did you fall asleep? Dong?
*16:20* Jae: this isn’t funny ive called like 17 times
*16:20* Jae: im calling ty
*16:20* Jae: he has your spare key you better wake up before he drags his ass over
Jaehyun tried to swallow the panic threatening to bubble up his throat. He knew that Dongyoung had the tendency to fall asleep randomly recently, ever since exam season fell upon them like a thick unyielding blanket of work and revision. Dongyoung tended to suffer a bit more around this time than the rest of them, pulling all-nighters and not even glancing at his kitchen until either Taeil or Taeyong forced him to inhale something, anything. Jaehyun, himself, tended to stay away from Dongyoung around this time - he couldn’t bear to look at his dark circles and pale complexion, instead, he sent encouraging messages to take care of himself while Jaehyun worked on his own pile of papers in the small apartment he shared with Mark. Dongyoung liked the idea of living alone and the second he had the funds to, Dongyoung was pulling an infinite amount of boxes up many flights of stairs to a small but adorable apartment he could call his own.
“Taeyong.” Jaehyun breathed out as he finally managed to reach Taeyong, who always kept his phone on silent and had moments where he was completely unreachable; “off the grid” was what Ten always muttered when Taeyong took hours to answer. What Taeyong was busy with, Jaehyun never knew.
Swiping to answer the call, Jaehyun let a barely-there smile grace his lips at the sound of Taeyong’s worried tone as he answered quickly with “What’s wrong Jae?” Jaehyun wasn’t the sort to bother his friends with phone calls and texts, leaving that to Ten, the drama queen of their cosy group of friends. When Jaehyun did call, it was serious or he was so drunk out of his mind that he didn’t know how to text.
“I’m really weirded out,” Jaehyun paused, letting his foot kick at Dongyoung’s front door, “Dongyoung messaged me to pick him up but he’s not answering any of my calls or texts, and he’s not answering the door.” Now that he said it out loud, he realised that this really wasn’t normal Dongyoung behaviour, and the panic, previously settled in his chest, seized his heart anew and twisted . God, what if something happened in there?
“Wait, he’s not answering anything ?” There was an anxious edge in Taeyong’s voice, and Jaehyun heard the familiar jingle of Taeyong’s keys, who carried far too many keychains from too many trips he’d made with Yuta all over Japan; back when the two had free time to spare travelling up and down nearby countries on a budget. The two had a complicated relationship that Jaehyun never dared question, instead preferring to take it at face value: Taeyong cared for Yuta and Yuta cared for Taeyong, and both wouldn’t dare hurt each other. It didn’t matter to Jaehyun if Yuta pecked Taeyong’s cheek far too close to his lips on holidays, or that Taeyong had the habit of waltzing around the apartment the redhead shared with Ten and Yuta in giant hoodies, that Yuta normally wore, and nothing else. As long as both of them were adamant that they were just friends, Jaehyun wouldn’t push. After all, Taeyong didn’t push him two years ago when Jaehyun was blonde and much smaller (“deathly skinny” according to Sicheng) and had a tendency to turn up unannounced at late hours to cry about his feelings for Dongyoung; Taeyong never pushed him to confess, letting Jaehyun stew in his painful emotions until he was sure his feelings for Dongyoung were genuine and he finally could confess, unburdened by any doubts or unsureness. If it wasn’t for Taeyong calmly guiding him through his crush, he wouldn’t be dating Dongyoung now -- the same Dongyoung who was unreachable and was about to give Jaehyun a heart attack.
“Are you coming?” Jaehyun swallowed audibly, resisting the urge to reach for the door handle in front of him and tug. Taeyong simply hummed,
“I’ll be there in 5, Dong’s spare key is under the rug, I had to leave it there last night.” Taeyong muttered ruggedly as his trainers scraped against the rough cemented floors of his apartment corridors. Jaehyun pressed the red button on his phone quickly, no semblance of goodbye on his tongue -- he’d see the elder in a couple of minutes anyway.
Unceremoniously diving down to the ground, Jaehyun dragged a corner of the heavy welcome mat upwards. The rug was a present from the whole gang to Dongyoung, they all wanted to get a necessity for the new apartment, but it was Donghyuck’s idea to customise it. Jaehyun smiled inwardly as the memory of Donghyuck wildly suggesting to write “Dongyoung’s dungeon” on the rug resurfaced in his brain. Jaehyun had swatted at the younger, shouting that “he mustn’t bully dodo”, before blushing a dark shade of pink at Ten’s suggestion to write “Dong’s Red Room”.
“Dongyoung’s basically a Christian Grey in real life anyway.” Ten had cackled, and Taeyong only could shake his head and proceed to decide to name the rug “Bunny’s Little Burrow”. Dongyoung had flushed darkly as he was presented the rug and spent an hour whining about it before Jaehyun shushed him with a hand on his jaw and a dimpled smile.
As Taeyong had said, the key was there, tucked near the middle of the rug and peeking at Jaehyun almost sympathetically. Jaehyun wouldn’t have needed to use this key had Dongyoung answered the door.
Pushing dusty lilac hair strands out of his face, Jaehyun stood up from his crouch and willed his hands not to shake as he shoved the key into the door. As the tiny click of the unlocked door echoed through the empty corridor, Jaehyun tensed. What if Dongyoung had fainted? What if he slammed his head down onto something and was unconscious? What if he was kidnapped? Jaehyun was getting worked up for probably no reason. Dongyoung was probably napping on his couch in the living room and Jaehyun would definitely not burst into tears. He hesitated to push open the door, now unlocked, and at that moment, Dongyoung’s neighbours on the opposite side of the corridor emerged.
“Oh, Jaehyun?” One of the two people leaving the other apartment widened their eyes in surprise. Jaehyun wracked his brain quickly to try and come up with the names of the two boys looking at him. The one who talked was Kun, definitely; Jaehyun remembered Dongyoung inviting him over because he and Kun were the same age, and they had a lot in common. The other, taller boy wasn’t someone Jaehyun knew, even though his grinning face was familiar, in the way that a celebrity or an actor you weren’t a fan of was.
“Oh yeah, Kun right?” Jaehyun hoped his smile seemed genuine enough, even though he felt the edges of his mouth threatening to come down in a frown of worry, he had to be entering Dongyoung’s apartment right now . Kun nodded and stepped forward, letting the door behind him fall shut softly.
“This is Lucas here, you might’ve seen him around the university.” Kun gestured to the taller, who beamed at the mention of his name. Jaehyun could only nod in acknowledgement before he started wringing his hands together.
“Uh-” Jaehyun started.
“Is everything okay?” Kun asked calmly, his eyes shining in concern. At that moment Jaehyun recalled why Dongyoung had really liked Kun; the guy was so friendly and open, always so soft and caring (“That kinda stuff always makes me melt.” Dongyoung had joked), Jaehyun felt a spark of old jealousy resurface at the pit of his stomach. Dongyoung had praised Kun so much the first few months he moved into this building, and Jaehyun hadn’t taken kindly to it, exploding into a fit of pure, unadulterated jealousy that had Dongyoung rolling on the floor in laughter. Dongyoung had to say “I love you” at least 50 times before Jaehyun even made eye contact with him again. Dongyoung wasn’t interested in Kun, only seeing him as a friend. Dongyoung wouldn’t mouth at Kun’s neck the way he would to Jaehyun. Dongyoung wouldn’t-- Jaehyun didn’t let that thought finish in his head, instead focusing on Kun’s question.
“No,” Jaehyun sighed, running his hand through his hair once more. He had styled his hair before coming here, eager to impress Dongyoung once more, because he couldn’t get enough of Dongyoung’s hitched breaths and quiet compliments whispered into his ear as they walked. Jaehyun loved it when Dongyoung found him pretty. However, now, his hair was flopping against his forehead sloppily.
“Dong hasn’t been answering the door in like,” He checked his phone, 16:37, “half an hour? He hasn’t been on his phone either.” Gnawing his lip in distress seemed like a good idea to Jaehyun, hissing when he drew blood.
“Oh shit, that’s pretty bad.” Lucas’ eyebrows furrowed, and he gazed sympathetically at the door. Kun nodded to Lucas’ statement,
“I saw him earlier, maybe at like 2? He was checking the mail downstairs I think.”
“Oh.” Jaehyun simply muttered thoughtfully.
“I haven’t seen him after that though. Did you unlock the door? I’ve got a spare key Do gave me a few days ago, called it ‘an emergency key’ and all that.” Kun continued, hands already scrambling to unlock his own door.
“No need,” Jaehyun waved his hand lazily, “I just found a key and unlocked the door.”
“That’s good, do you want us to come with?” Lucas asked; Jaehyun thought it was nice of him to offer, even if he was basically a stranger to both him and Dongyoung.
“Nah it’s okay, Yonggie’s on the way anyway.” Jaehyun smiled reassuringly, ignoring the fast pace of his heart. The pair of boys hesitantly stepped to the side to leave, when Kun grabbed Jaehyun’s arm,
“Dong has my number, let me know if he’s okay.” His grip was tight on Jaehyun’s forearm but not threatening, instead almost comforting, as Kun’s warmth enveloped bare skin. Jaehyun had decided to stick to a short sleeve shirt and had been planning to retrieve his blazer from the Dongyoung’s coat hooks near the entrance. The combo would’ve made a great outfit. Jaehyun enjoyed leaving his stuff over at Dongyoung’s apartment; a domestic warmth would fill his heart whenever he remembered that some of his clothes were over at Dongyoung’s and that the elder wore them sometimes, unknowingly showing them off when having late night facetime sessions talking about their days because Jaehyun didn’t live too close and wasn’t always awake enough to trek up a few roads then up a few flights of stairs just to ask about Dongyoung’s day.
“Will do,” Jaehyun promised, “And he’s probably asleep or something knowing him.” Letting out a strained laugh, Jaehyun shook his head. He didn’t miss the way Kun’s eyes softened even further, which felt impossible, nor the way that Lucas’ shoulders hunched together as he stood back. Kun patted his shoulder and sprung away. They all waved at each other, Jaehyun watching as the two boys rushed off after Lucas exclaimed that they were “seriously about to be late”.
Jaehyun let out a sigh; the entire exchange had lasted about a minute, two at most, yet, in his eyes, it seemed like too much time wasted seeing as he should’ve already been in the apartment.
The door swung open easily and Jaehyun felt his body tense once more as he stepped inside. Something was off. Taking a few steps further in, Jaehyun exhaled shakily as he brought his arms around himself, it was far too cold in this apartment. Far too cold when Dongyoung liked feeling toasty and warm, enjoyed the feeling of heat clinging onto him. Studying the entrance, Jaehyun saw nothing out of the ordinary, albeit a tiny postcard from Dongyoung’s brother who seemed to be in Italy now, judging by the Colosseum printed onto the glossy card. After an exaggerated fight between the two, Dongyoung had taken to ignoring his brother, Donghyun, as the elder travelled the world with his new wife. Jaehyun had thought it was slightly silly for Dongyoung to hold such a grudge against his brother but his opinion changed when Dongyoung actually paused and explained it all to Jaehyun (something Dongyoung rarely did because he didn’t like talking about what upset him); Donghyun had promised 10-year-old Dongyoung that they’d share all their milestones, including marriage, but the older Kim went and got married in such a rushed way, it left Dongyoung without any chance to come (the wedding being held in Jeju, and the younger finding out a day before) and be his brother’s best man. It frustrated Dongyoung to no end, to the point that Donghyun’s postcards were left unread in a stack Taeil dubbed “the angry pile” with all of the takeaway spam Dongyoung received. Jaehyun’s eyes ran over the card absentmindedly, before turning to the coat rack opposite and grabbing a button up sweater Dongyoung had left there. It was too cold.
The living room looked like it always did: slightly cluttered and full in a way that displayed living instead of messiness. Dongyoung was the sort who’d tidy areas that got out of hand (like the kitchen) but leaving the rest in an organised mess. Taeyong always complained, and had a habit of secretly tidying when passing by; whenever Dongyoung caught him, he’d feign nonchalance and mutter “I was only trying to help.” with his signature pout. No one was immune to Taeyong’s soft pout.
Jaehyun couldn’t help but sigh as he passed by the wooden coffee table. The surface was stained with all sorts of colours - Donghyuck used to paint there without a cover, just to get on Dongyoung’s nerves - and the spider-thin cracks were visible now more than ever - Jeno had a habit of slamming his fists down whenever he lost a game of Mario cart. The only reason Dongyoung never replaced the table was that it was a witness to so many good memories. Jaehyun wanted it gone because it was a witness to some of their worst memories too: their first fight, the time Dongyoung asked to break up once, and when Jaehyun had tripped over a leg chair and ended up sprawled on the floors concussed after slamming his forehead into said coffee table. Yet, Dongyoung always fired back: “our fight was solved in like an hour Jae, and we worked out our issues and never broke up, remember? The head thing, however…” He never liked to talk about that moment. Finding Jaehyun groaning facedown on the washed out carpet, blood smeared across his face, was a nightmare come to life for Dongyoung, who had paranoia and the tendency to think of the worst. Jaehyun could only wrap his arms around the elder and push his head into his chest whenever the topic came up, brushing away stray tears.
The living room was clearly empty - no Dongyoung messily pancaked into the scratched up couch, only fluffed up throw pillows seemingly left untouched for hours.
“Dongyoung?” Jaehyun’s voice was strained as he spun in a circle, hoping that the elder would just appear, giggling away at his nervous expression. No one materialised in the living room, and the silence stretched on.
Hesitantly, Jaehyun trudged across the living room, eyes set on the kitchen’s doorway. Jaehyun thought he’d systematically go through every room, and then call all of his friends if Dongyoung was nowhere to be found. Just as his clenched fists were about to push through the glass door, steps were heard. Jaehyun couldn’t help but think he was interrupted halfway through actions an awful amount today.
“Is he not in?” Taeyong softly uttered, clearly confused by Dongyoung’s sudden disappearance. Jaehyun faced Taeyong and could only shake his head.
“This is totally weird for him.” Taeyong’s eyebrows scrunched together, hands gripping his silvery fringe hard; Taeyong had a habit of pulling his hair when frustration bubbled up within him threatened to spill. He was dressed in a loose burgundy t-shirt, shoulder and collarbone exposed by the largeness of it, and dark track pants (a present from Dongyoung a few weeks ago after hearing Taeyong complain about being too busy to shop).
“Ah,” Jaehyun felt a small flush of guilt rise up his trachea like a stolen breath, “did I pull you out the studio?”
“Nah it’s fine, don’t worry.” Taeyong’s eyes were wide and earnest, convincing Jaehyun to pipe down the apologies already forming in his head. Jaehyun had a habit of apologising all the time, something everyone in the friendship group had remarked to him, encouraging him to speak his mind and forget about saying sorry. Dongyoung used to smack the back of his head lightly every time he even came as close to muttering an unsolicited apology. Old habits die hard, though.
Nodding to each other once, Taeyong joined Jaehyun in stumbling through the kitchen.
“Why are all the lights on?” Taeyong wondered aloud, as he quickly shuffled to the fridge and grabbed one of the many fruity drinks Dongyoung liked to buy. Jaehyun could only shrug and head to the grey granite top where a bright green mug, normally only reserved for Jaehyun himself, sat. It was a gag gift from Mark last Christmas, who called Jaehyun Hulk a couple of times and thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. Jaehyun begrudgingly accepted it but ended up leaving the present at Dongyoung’s permanently, who turned it into “Jaehyun’s special mug”. It was rare to see it out of the polished wooden cupboards unless Jaehyun pulled it out himself. Trainers sliding against the cream tiles, Jaehyun bumped his hips against the cold counter and peered into the cup. The jasmine aroma strongly permeated the air around Jaehyun causing him to let out a light cough before recoiling.
“Dongyoung hates tea, especially Jasmine tea, since when does he drink it?” Taeyong frowned after Jaehyun proceeded to shove the mug under the elder’s nose.
“Exactly! And, what’s more, there’s a lipstick stain on the side, look.” Jaehyun pointed at the peachy pink stain. Taeyong hummed,
“We’re looking hella creepy studying random things like cups Jae, but anyway, I guess he had a guest?”
“Why use my mug though?” Jaehyun couldn’t help but whine, “He owns, like, twenty!”
Taeyong just laughed and pried the mug out of the younger’s fingers, setting it down.
“Let’s just go check his other rooms to see if he’s dead.” The silver-haired boy launched himself towards the direction of the bedroom, bathroom and the spare room practically turned into Donghyuck’s room since he spent so much time here. Dongyoung would always huff and groan that “Donghyuck’s been pestering me for like a week now, when is he going to leave?” but Jaehyun was aware that Dongyoung loved taking care of Donghyuck, cooking him meals, acting as his confidant, among other stuff. Dongyoung was the definition of a dependable adult; his apartment was a safe haven for anyone out of their friends whenever they needed it (paired with the fact that he was a walking diary for everyone, always listening to their rants and problems, with no complaint on his lips whatsoever, caused everyone to flock to him in time of need), and Dongyoung was just so prepared and aware of his ambitions and goals - even how to get there, step by step. Jaehyun sometimes felt small pangs of jealousy and fear strike down on his ribcage when thinking about it; he could never be as organised as Dongyoung, couldn’t even begin to match his endless ambition and fire driving him forward constantly - what if Dongyong got bored of Jaehyun being so different to him? What if he thought they were too incompatible because Jaehyun was fine with the local radio job he had and prolonging his studies for as long as possible? Dongyoung was a careers’ man while Jaehyun prefered to float his way through life, with just enough money to not feel a strain and as much free time as possible. Jaehyun avoided these topics, out of fear that Dongyoung was going to get up and say “you’re right, we’re too different, let’s break up”, even though he clearly knew that the other wasn’t like that, the other would never break his heart over a reason like this.
Taeyong marched through the corridor, slamming open the spare room’s door with no hesitation. It wasn’t normal for them to walk around the other’s apartment without him there; Dongyoung had a strict rule only allowing them in only when he was there or with his permission. It made sense, considering Taeyong would’ve snuck in for deep cleaning at 3 am otherwise, and Johnny would make the couch his new residence. The two felt almost as if they were breaking an oath by standing around the apartment with Dongyoung not being in sight and no explicit permission; however, Jaehyun’s brain reasoned, this was a state of emergency.
Taeyong peeked into the spare room and smothered a laugh,
“This place is a mess!” Taeyong generally wasn’t a very loud person, yet he couldn’t stop his voice raising when faced with a mess. Head peeking past Taeyong’s squared shoulders, Jaehyun could only sigh, seeing books and other miscellaneous belongings strewn all over the bed and desk.
“Must be Donghyuck’s doing, that brat.” Jaehyun hissed. Taeyong could only shrug, hands already reaching to collect strewn stationary. Jaehyun, himself, started picking up the clothes thrown onto the bed, hoping to speed up the cleaning process. After all, Taeyong wouldn’t budge from the guest room if it had an item out of place.
“Just shove them in the wardrobe, I’ll come back later to tidy properly.” Taeyong said, eyes burning holes into the clothes in Jaehyun’s hold. The younger did as he was told, quickly scampering to grab the rest of the clothes.
“Huh? Wait, Tae-” Jaehyun started, as he stared down at another garment, “this-”
“What is it, Jae?” Taeyong’s eyebrows were scrunched in exasperation, as he padded over to Jaehyun. His expression stiffened.
“What the hell?”
“I honestly don’t know what Dong must’ve done to get this much wine? Food colouring? on his favourite hoodie; honestly,” Jaehyun choked out a breath, “what the fuck.”
Jaehyun held up the once white garment, grimacing at the stains blending into the black writing across the chest. It was a generic college hoodie, once belonging to Jaehyun until Dongyoung announced that Jaehyun’s hoodies were bigger and therefore should belong to him to cuddle and wear when Jaehyun wasn’t there. The darkened scarlet danced across the hoodie’s torso in thin but blotchy streaks -- it looked abnormal to Jaehyun.
“Not trying to instil some deep-rooted fear in you, but that looks like blood.” Taeyong whispered, grabbing Jaehyun’s left wrist and dragging it down in a weak attempt to force him to let go of the hoodie.
“He was literally wearing it last night during facetime, like, he couldn’t have done anything,” frustration built up in Jaehyun in heavy bricks, suffocating his ribcage, “it must be something else, literally anything else.” Holding the garment, Jaehyun felt like he was in a mystery film, about to uncover some horrible secret. However, Dongyoung never kept secrets; he was an open book to anyone who asked, finding lying and hiding an unnecessary inconvenience. The only time Jaehyun had seen Dongyoung attempt a lie was during a phone call to Donghyun -- watching Dongyoung choke out syllables in the wrong order, partnered with a flush spreading down his neck, showed the younger that Dongyoung wasn’t made for a secret, silenced life. The hoodie Jaehyun clutched didn’t seem like anything Dongyoung would do -- to himself, or others.
“Let’s go.” Without another word, the hoodie was abandoned and Taeyong was forced out of the room by a pushy Jaehyun, whose eagerness to find something about Dongyoung’s disappearance suddenly tripled.
Padding through the corridor, past Dongyoung’s linen cupboards ingrained into the walls, both men paused at the bathroom, looking in.
“Ugh, it smells like someone threw up bleach everywhere…” Taeyong coughed, hand coming up to pinch his nose. Jaehyun only shrugged, preferring to ignore the sharp tinge of lemon and bleach invading his nose, resuming his scan of the bathroom with renewed vigour. They had to find a note or something from Dongyoung about his disappearance, at least .
The bathroom was it’s usual spotless self. Nothing was out of order, the only peculiar thing is the strong smell of chemicals. Dongyoung scheduled everything he could, from his university activities to mealtimes — this included his cleaning schedule. Jaehyun swore he cleaned on Tuesday mornings, before his economics lecture at 11, but it didn’t seem the case; it was a Friday today. Unlike Taeyong, who cleaned like his life bet on it, and Jungwoo, who felt an uncomfortable feeling crawling up his spine at the sight of the tiniest thing out of order, Dongyoung used tidying and cleaning as therapy; the elder often caught bouts of midweek blues and would use cleaning as an excuse to clear his head — “an empty sink means an emptied mind.” He’d say before marching into the kitchen with stacks of plates after inviting the whole gang to a homemade dinner. Dongyoung was very domesticated.
Jaehyun sighed,
“Keep going.” In response, Taeyong cocked an eyebrow at the lacking comment on Dongyoung’s cleaning; Taeyong was also aware of Dongyoung’s schedule. He had memorised it the second Dongyoung had waved around a piece of paper full of hourly, weekly, monthly tables.
“I’ve never been to his bedroom, you know…” Taeyong hesitantly said, his steps falling short compared to Jaehyun’s confident strides. The younger paused,
“Never?” He seemed almost incredulous at Taeyong’s statement; Dongyoung, who considered Taeyong one of his closest friends, never let him into his bedroom? Dongyoung wasn’t overly private or closed-off, and he had nothing to hide there either, except maybe one or two T-shirts strewn over a chair, waiting for his washing days.
“Nope,” Taeyong shrugged, “I mean there wasn’t a point to knowing, I guess?”
Jaehyun could only hum in reply, still stumped at the fact that the room he knew best in this whole apartment was uncharted territory for the boy beside him. When they reached the white door of Dongyoung’s bedroom, Taeyong shivered,
“Is it me or is it even colder standing here?”
Jaehyun contemplated that as he practically threw open the door, expecting to find Dongyoung’s sprawled out figure on the bed, snoring lightly. The bedroom was the most logical place to take a nap, but Dongyoung was a light sleeper, and Jaehyun’s fear spiked at the thought that something worse could have happened.
The first thing the pair saw was the wide windows on the right completely stripped off of their thick, concealing curtains -- Dongyoung adored the grey curtains, paired with small white strips raining down the fabric, to the point where he decorated his whole bedroom around them. The windows themselves were flung open wide but were quickly snapped shut by Taeyong rushing in. While Taeyong only had tunnel vision for the bone-chilling cold running into the apartment, Jaehyun studied the bedroom.
Nothing.
No Dongyoung.
The large bed Jaehyun knew always stayed crinkly and messy was pressed down and smoothed to perfection, which was yet another odd thing about Dongyoung’s apartment today. At the sight, Jaehyun’s concern flooded his veins, freezing up his limbs, and he blinked small tears out of his eyes quickly.
Taeyong spun around, face pulled into a frown,
“Okay, what the hell is going on here?” The elder’s eyes flickered over the bedroom, searching for any sign of Dongyoung. Dongyoung’s bedroom was the simplest room in the whole apartment, comprising of minimalistic furniture and light colours; Taeyong felt as if he was invading Dongyoung’s most personal space, pushing into Dongyoung’s deepest crevice in his heart, trespassing on his most personal thoughts -- it was an uncomfortable feeling.
Jaehyun, on the other hand, was the perfect picture of nonchalance as he dropped face downwards onto the large bed, breathing in the scent that was Kim Dongyoung -- a hint of vanilla overshadowed by the generic flowery scent of his shampoo. Jaehyun enjoyed being on Dongyoung’s bed, finding comfort in the soft sheets and Dongyoung himself when the elder always inevitably ended up sprawled over Jaehyun, hands intertwining and legs slotting together naturally. Cuddling with Dongyoung felt almost as natural as breathing, and Jaehyun was suddenly hit with a terrible wave of forlorn; he hadn’t seen Dongyoung in almost two weeks -- today was the day they dedicated to spending with each other, catching up and basking in each other's warmth. Jaehyun’s heart ached.
“What do we do now? Police? Our friends first? His parents? Uh-” Taeyong stared at Jaehyun’s motionless back while attempting to push down the desire to pace up and down Dongyoung’s carpeted floors until he caused skid marks.
“Jae, just let's look through his room first, uh, is that okay? Good idea? I think it is I mean- I’m rambling…” Taeyong muttered, voice climbing higher in pitch as he panicked. What do you do when the most dependable person who everyone counted on to be always accessible seems to fall off the earth?
Jaehyun pulled himself up, keen to help Taeyong practically ransack the bedroom in his flustered state. That’s when he saw it: Dongyoung’s phone.
His boyfriend’s phone laid half tucked under the bed, seemingly thrown haphazardly judging by the crack on the side of the screen -- something Dongyoung would’ve complained about straight away had it happened earlier. Scrambling to grab the device, Jaehyun was hit by the realisation that Dongyoung was honestly somewhere, without his phone and possibly in danger.
“Worse case scenario,” Jaehyun thought, “He’s in danger, but it’s not set in stone.”
“Wait, is that Do’s phone?” Taeyong’s wide eyes zeroed in on Jaehyun sitting up and already typing in Dongyoung’s ridiculously long password. “For protection!” Dongyoung would always exclaim when Jaehyun would groan at having to spend half a minute pressing down on jumbled letters -- Ten, more often than not, would retort “as if you have anything important to protect in there” and the two would squabble indignantly until Yuta returned to push them away from each other casually, popping their little argumentative bubble.
Phone unlocked, Jaehyun watched the messaging app Dongyoung had last been on load, eyes trained on the little circle until it morphed into Dongyoung’s chat with Jaehyun himself.
“There’s nothing important straightaway, huh?” Taeyong sighed as he dug his chin into the younger’s shoulder.
“Wait- unfinished message.” Was all Jaehyun pointed out as both boys lurched forward inadvertently to read. Dongyoung never got to send Jaehyun his last message:
“Listen jae dont come here i love you i think i need to ru”
The message cut off. Reading it only once was enough for the words to sear into Jaehyun's brain, looking gnarly and sinister at the back of his eyelids whenever they fluttered shut. After a pregnant pause filled with both boys' thoughts whirring faster than bullets, Jaehyun’s head snapped up in cold dread, far more chilling than the brisk air the wide-open windows forced in.
"Where was Dongyoung?" Is all that floated in his head as Jaehyun clambered onto his feet, ignorant of Taeyong's shouts, and burst out the bedroom, out the apartment, out of the building and into the darkening frigid evening.