"yeosang! kang yeosang!"

the boy, who was sat in front of his desk with his eyes fixated on his pc, sighed. "yes, mom?!"

"pick up the phone for me please!" his mother shouted back.

after trying hard enough, yeosang could hear the faint trill of their house phone ringing through the atmosphere. it paused momentarily, before ringing again. whoever it is seems desperate, he thought, but that didn't at all mean he cared a even tiny bit more. "but i'm busy!"

busy waiting for this asshole to come online. it wasn't common for jung wooyoung, yeosang's best friend, to live by his word and join their shared minecraft server at the time he himself always set. "6pm, yeo, okay?" he had said a few hours prior outside of their college building, before the two separated ways. yeosang glanced at the alarm clock sitting on his bedside table, the luminous numbers reading 18:49. this happened so often, he wasn't even surprised anymore.

"yeosang, please," the teen's mother tried. "i'm washing the dishes right now so just this once!"

exhaling deeply in frustration, yeosang stood up from his chair and made his way downstairs. after reaching the end of the staircase, he turned the corner, reaching out for the phone glued onto the wall. though it'd been at least two minutes since it began ringing, the agitating tone was still singing on, and yeosang pondered what could possibly be so important.

he picked the call up, forcing a polite voice. "hello. who's this?"

"hello, yeosang, dear." the voice was familiar, one that the boy had practically grown up with, causing a grin to decorate his features.

"oh, mrs jung! um, my mom is busy with the dishes at the moment so you might want to call lat—"

"there's no need, i actually called for you," wooyoung's mother interrupted yeosang, causing him to become curious. he hummed, letting her know that she could continue. "is wooyoung, by any chance, with you right now?"

"no. no, he isn't. why? is anything wrong?" yeosang hurried out.

mrs jung chuckled half-heartedly. "well, i sure hope not. it's just that he hasn't come home from school, and i'm getting quite worried. i've tried texting and calling him multiple times but he hasn't responded, which is why i decided to come to you... though it seems like you're just as clueless as me. do you have any idea as to where he might be?"

"oh..." yeosang's stomach churned. "i haven't heard from him since school ended either, but i-i can, er, check with some of his friends if that would help?"

"i'd appreciate it if you did. thank you, yeosang."

"it's no problem... i-i'll call you back in a few," yeosang said, his palms becoming sweaty.

"please do if you find anything." mrs jung's frail voice broke, and yeosang felt his heart ping. "thank you, again, dear, it means so much."

"yeah, o-of course. bye, mrs jung." without even bothering to wait for a response, yeosang ended the call. he took a deep breath, before aiming to head to his room where his cellphone was, but his mother just had to step in his way, stopping him.

the smile on her face seemed so out of place in a situation like this that yeosang's eyes welled up with tears. "who was it, sweetheart?"

"m-mrs jung, she, um—" yeosang sniffled. "it's a-about wooyoung, he-he—"

yeosang couldn't help it. a choked sob escaped his throat, followed with relentless tears rushing down his cheeks, his hands shooting upwards to wipe them away. but then, his mother was stood in front of him, her knees bending down to reach his level and her arms wrapping around his torso. as much as yeosang wanted the affection after what he'd just been informed about, the attention only made him feel worse.

crying made him feel pathetic. and he needed to be strong right now — for wooyoung, for himself, even.

"mom..." yeosang whispered, squirming in her hold as an attempt to get away. "mom, please let me go, i need to—"

"yeosang, sweetheart, you're going to talk to me before you do anything else," ms kang demanded softly. "i understand that it's hard, but you need to tell me what's going on. what did mrs jung tell you, hm?"

yeosang gulped, unable to get the words out. "w-wooyoung, he- he's not..." shaking his head, even more tears joined yeosang's damp cheeks.

"wooyoung's not what, sweetheart?"

"he's not- he didn't come h-home after school t-today, a-and i told mrs jung that i-i'd text his friends s-so please, mom," yeosang pleaded, staring deep into his mother's eyes through his own blurry ones. "please, i-i need to do this, please let me go..."

the pain in yeosang's face was evident, and since having witnessed the boy and his best friend grow up together, ms kang knew more than anyone how much the two meant to one another. therefore, after planting a delicate kiss onto her son's forehead, she let him out of her embrace. "everything will be okay, yeosangie. i'm going to call mrs jung back, because she probably needs someone right now. you go and find out what you can, okay, sweetheart?"

yeosang nodded his head, hastily rubbing his remaining tears away. "th-thank you, mom." after offering his mother a small smile, he turned his back on her and raced up the stairs.

stumbling back into his room, yeosang shut the door behind him and neared his bed. fuck, where is it? he frantically began searching for his phone, hands roaming his duvet before it slipped underneath his pillow, fingertips meeting a thin, rectangle-shaped object.

a sigh of relief left the corners of yeosang's mouth, as he pulled the device out from its hiding place. perching himself on the side of his bed, he rushed to his messages and started scrolling down, in search of a certain group-chat. wooyoung had added yeosang to it — without his say— a few months back, and after quickly introducing himself to the latter's friends, he'd ignored every text from it since.

rail me thanos [4]

me
uh hi you guys...
i need ur help w smth, it's urgent

song mingi
oh hey yeosang!
its been a while how have u been?

kim hongjoong
mingi. change the gc name right now.
and hi yeosang, what's up?

song mingi
not until u come up with a better one joongie
impossible, i know 😌

me
ive been doing fine but i need to ask
is wooyoung at any of urs right now? and if not, when was the last time u saw him?

kim hongjoong
even those cringe eleven year olds who have just started high school can come up with a better one
the last time i saw wooyoung was at lunch today. why though, is something wrong?

song mingi
those eleven year olds can swim in hellfire 🤗
i last saw him then too ^^

me
oh ok

kim hongjoong
swimming in fire is impossible, gi ???

song mingi
we get that ur a clever clogs and all but u dont need to flex it on us 25/8 😒

me
guys, pls not now
wooyoung hasnt come home from school today which is why i came to ask you guys
and idk where else he could be

kim hongjoong
fuck that's not good

song mingi
oh no :((
have u checked w that pear hair boy that hes always with?

me
who?

kim hongjoong
the what hair boy?

song mingi
pear hair boy!
i dont remember his name but wooyoung introduced him to me once and ik that theyre pretty close

kim hongjoong
and he has pear hair you say?

song mingi
mhm
green but not neon so pear!

kim hongjoong
yeosang?

me
i have no clue as to who this could be
i've never seen wooyoung hang out w anyone that isn't you two...

song mingi
you havent?
oh thats weird i always assumed u knew him through wooyoung bc they hang out at his all the time
ig i was wrong tho sorry

me
don't be sorry mingi, it's fine

kim hongjoong
exactly, if i was you i would've thought the same, bubs
so don't worry about it, yeah?

song mingi
okay joongie i won't!

kim hongjoong is typing...

yeosang shut his phone. the black screen of the device revealed his reflection to himself — swollen, bloodshot eyes, puffy, tear-stained cheeks, and a bright red nose. wooyoung would be laughing at you right now, he told himself. if he was here.

shaking his head vigorously at the thought, yeosang forced his legs up, struggling slightly to make it to his door. he's probably just lost, or something. after turning the doorknob of his bedroom open with trembling hands, yeosang dragged his legs downstairs; all he wanted to do right now was sleep, but he wasn't going to just leave mrs jung hanging.

as yeosang walked down the stairs, pace purposely slow, his mother's voice met his ears. it was shaky, mixed with sniffles. she was crying.

stop it. this is probably all a prank. you know wooyoung, he didn't call himself a 'prankster king' when he was seven for no reason. yeosang kept his mouth shut, despite wanting to speak up and console his mother. he just stood there, at one end of the hallway, watching her speak to mrs jung through the phone.

however, yeosang's plan to stay invisible was ruined, ms kang's gaze landing on him. she gasped, before ushering him closer. yeosang reluctantly trudged over to his mother, internally complaining over why he had to be the one to break the bad news.

ms kang pressed a button, and mrs jung could now be heard loud and clear. "yeosang, dear? have you found anything?"

"i-i- well—" yeosang cleared his throat, tears glossing his vision once again. "i asked two of wooyoung's friends th-that i have contact w-with, and they d-don't- they don't know where h-he is right now. they haven't seen o-or heard from him s-since school, either..." a raw, heart-breaking cry comes from the speaker. "i-i'm sorry, mrs jung, i-i—"

"no, no, yeosang! dear, it's not your fault. i-i know you're hurting too in this situation, and i promise everything will be okay. we'll find him."

yeosang nodded his head, despite wooyoung's mother not being able to see him. "o-okay."

"i promise you, we'll find your best friend."

———

a/n: ...hi there

HSFDHDJHD apologies to any wommys reading (unless u're vin bc i dont like them) wooyo is... living tho i can assure u and thats a plus lets look on the bright side 😁😁😁 !!!

if anyone has even decided to come here, thank u<33 u're definitely in for a ride but thats kinda my job and no u cannot complain that isn't an option.

ALSO OMG im doing titles for this and its so fun pls i love it here

anyway thoughts so far??