Taehyung looked around for Jungkook. He wanted to show him what Yoongi had bought for him but he couldn't spot the younger boy. He frantically looked around trying to spot Jungkook but yet again, he was nowhere to be seen.

He immediately handed the packet to Yoongi and ran towards the direction he last saw Jungkook, frantically searching, but - there was no Jungkook. By now his worries had started to take over and showed up in his body language. He tapped the shoulders of a few bystanders to ask if they saw someone going out.

It was as if something had snapped inside him. Taehyung's eyes darted everywhere scanning the streets wildly. A cold dread crept up his spine at the thought of losing his constant, his home, his stability. Jungkook was the anchor that kept him grounded, and the thought of being without him was unbearable.

Taehyung's mind raced with memories of their time together, the way Jungkook's presence had become a staple in his life. He couldn't lose sight of him, it wasn't what he did. He was always so, so careful with the boy. But now, in this moment, he felt like he was staring into the abyss, with no safety net to catch him if he were to fall.

Guilt gnawed at his conscience, eating away at his resolve. He knew he hadn't been paying enough attention to Jungkook today, not like he should have been. More so in a public place like this. He had gotten caught up in his own thoughts, his own demons, his own desires, and now Jungkook was gone. The weight of his neglect threatened to crush him.

As he searched, Taehyung's panic turned to frenzy. He ran through the streets, his heart pounding in his chest, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He called out Jungkook's name, but only the wind replied. The fear of the loss was suffocating him, making it hard to breathe.

Yoongi was long forgotten as Taehyung ran towards the entrance. The professor just sprinted behind Taehyung. Taehyung was clearly in panic mode now. He had no clue about where Jungkook could have gone, how he would find his way back to them - knowing in the heart of hearts that Jungkook would not be able to find his way home.

Taehyung didn't even know how much time had passed until Yoongi tapped on his shoulder, "We have been looking for 45 mins. I am sure if he was around, we would have seen him." Yoongi's words hit him like lightning.

Taehyung shuffled on his feet, signing something urgently to Yoongi as he ran. He ran towards home, knowing very well that he wouldn't find Jungkook there. But he was headed there for something else.

Yoongi ran behind him, helplessly, his eyes scanning the path for sight of Jungkook all the time. Taehyung wasn't bothered about him at all, he knew that, but he couldn't get himself to leave taehyung, not right now. As they turned the corner onto their street, Taehyung's pace faltered for a moment. There it was, the sight of their home that loomed large before him, a reminder of everything he was at a risk of losing. And then, with a sudden newfound sense of determination, he surged forward.

As soon as he reached the door of his house, which was still locked, exactly how he had left it in the morning, his heart sank a bit. However impractical it had felt to him, he had hoped in one corner of his heart to find Jungkook there. He dug through his balloon bag and fished out a party blow horn, storing some of those to some times to sell at birthday parties.

Blowing it again and again he searched every nook, corner, probable hiding place on that terrace and the water tank there. He kept hoping that Jungkook would just spring out from somewhere and go 'boo' at the sound of the party blow horn.

Yoongi just couldn't piece anything together. This wasn't something they should be doing at this time. He was suddenly feeling out of place and helpless, a feeling that wasn't familiar to him in the world outside of this home. The world which had fully functional humans but sans any emotional quotient. He was more empathetic than anyone he was around, but still was just not equipped to handle this.

A couple of times, Taehyung had run to Yoongi, trying to say something or maybe just out of despair. But he hadn't ended up saying anything at all. He locked eyes with Yoongi, the man whom he so madly loved at one point in time, but now Yoongi was just a reminder of his loss. The loss of Jungkook. His Jungkook, who had only him.

Taehyung pushed past Yoongi, his focus solely on finding Jungkook. He ran back to his usual spot where we sold balloons in front of the shop. That point gave a clear view of the street and the terrace of their house. Nothing at all, there was no sight of Jungkook.

Or was there?

The staircase that led up to the terrace had some junk stacked at the turn. Someone was sitting right there behind some bamboo poles. It was Jungkook, sitting on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest, blinking, and looking at Taehyung running outside.

It was amazing, the way he had found his way back home. Amazing, maybe, for people like you and me who would have difficulty remembering the route for a place where we had just gone for the very first time. But for Jungkook, maybe, it was because he didn't clutter his mind with unnecessary details, because he operated in the now and present. That's why, he could retrace the steps. Additionally, his parents constantly dragged him along when he went to visit them, which had kind of conditioned him to do this. And then either they would fight or get too drunk, leaving Jungkook behind to find his way home.

Jungkook's heart raced as he hid there, his eyes fixed on Taehyung. He couldn't believe Taehyung would do this to him, that he would so carelessly look at someone else when Jungkook was right there, looking at him, only him, with every fiber of his being.

In Jungkook's mind, it was simple. As simple as black and white. Taehyung shouldn't have. They were supposed to be just two—a unit, a team. Jungkook didn't understand the nuances, the whys, and the hows. All he knew was that Taehyung's actions made him feel as if he had been kicked out of that team, or had fallen off and nobody noticed.

Taehyung didn't notice. And that was enough.

He was watching Taehyung run around, very worried. He could have come out from there, but he didn't. The moment he saw Yoongi tagging behind Taehyung, he didn't feel like making any move. Everyone missed the subtle nods of disapproval he made because his attention was suddenly solely on Yoongi. But they were very much there.

As Taehyung headed back towards the station road, blowing the party horn all around, Jungkook went up to a phone booth at the other end of the street and pulled out a half-torn piece of paper from his pockets. The piece of paper had a phone number written on it. He handed it to the person who was manning the phone booth to dial the number for him.

Somewhere during this last stretch of running around, Taehyung and Yoongi had separated. And now, the first light of the sun was just beginning to light up the sky. It had been one long night. Yoongi was at the locked door on the terrace. When he couldn't find Taehyung, he headed back. Tired, and in despair, he did what seemed to him to be the only logical thing to do.

Yoongi drove up to the nearest police station in Seoul. He didn't know anything about Jungkook. What was he even supposed to share with the police?

"See, I don't know anything about him at all. I just know he is from Boseong." Yoongi tried telling them politely.

"Address, street name, parents' name. Anything at all, Professor?" The inspector asked him.

"Jeon. Yes. Their family name is Jeon and they have a big tea estate. I have been there before but Jungkook was never there when I was." Yoongi tried to recollect his visit to the Boseong Tea Estate. A visit that had changed everything, every course of his life.

"Let's hope this helps. I will try to connect with the Boseong Police Station and see if they can help me with a photograph from local records or from the family. Please jot down your address and home phone number in the register, and we will let you know as soon as we know anything,." the inspector concluded.

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