ˢᵉᶜʳᵉᵗˢ | ʲᵉᵒⁿᵍᶜʰᵃⁿ

042

Chan's P.O.V

Jeongin hasn't really left Hyunjin's side ever since he got home. And I understand why, he's glad that he's home and safe, but I also feel like he's staying by his side because he's afraid something is going to happen to him again.

Jeongin really blames a lot of what happened on himself. And no matter how much I try to tell him that it wasn't his fault, he never believes me. I don't think he can, to be honest. His mind is made up and there's no changing that. All we can do is try to help him feel better about the situation and support him.

Sighing softly to myself, I watched as Felix slowly walked into the living room, sulking. "Hey, Felix. What's wrong?" Shrugging, he played with the material of the couch. I smiled softly as I waved him over, patting the spot next to me. He sat down, sighing quietly before turning to me and opening up.

"Hyung, I'm so worried about Jeongin. He's clung onto Hyunjin ever since we got home. And I know Hyunjin doesn't mind, he loves the kid to death, but I'm so worried about him. He hasn't eaten since we got home either. He was doing so good at keeping up with his eating. I-" "Felix." His bright eyes, glossed over with sadness, stared into mine as he waited for me to talk. "We just have to give him time. That's all we can do."

"But-" "There are no buts, Felix. I know it sucks, I'm really worried about him too, but there isn't much we can do. If anything, Hyunjin is the only person right now that can get through to him." The younger nodded, sinking down into the couch more as he pouted, worried about his friend. I just wrapped my arm around his shoulder, trying to comfort him as much as possible.

~

I was passed out on the bed Jeongin and I shared when my phone started ringing, waking me from my much needed slumber. Running towards Hyunjin's room, knowing it was him calling, I discovered a frantic Hyunjin but no Jeongin. "Hyunjin, what's wrong?" Felix and Jisung both ran up the stairs, panting behind me as we waited for an answer from the younger. "I woke up and couldn't find Jeongin." We all sighed, wondering if he was maybe just freaking out because he was alone.

"Jinnie, I'm sure he's just in the bathroom or something. We'll go find him for you." The younger only nodded, sinking into his bed once more with a worried expression on his face. The three of us searched the house for the little boy, Felix searching downstairs, Jisung searching upstairs, and me searching the back yard. But to no avail. Jeongin was nowhere in sight.

"Hyung," Jisung began as him and Felix walked up to me. "Where do you think he went?" Panic began to set in as I tried to think of where he could have gone without letting any of us know. The only place I can think of is his parent's house. But why wouldn't he let one of us know? Especially Felilx. He tells him everything. "Jisung, you call Jeongin and try to get ahold of him. Felix, you call his parents and see if he went home. I'll go back upstairs with Hyunjin and try to calm him down enough to see if he remembers Jeongin saying anything about leaving." They both nodded, heading off to complete their given tasks.

"Hyunjin." I knocked softly on the door to his room, peaking my head inside to see him softly crying against the pillow he had clutched to his chest. "Hey, why are you crying? What's wrong?" "Hyung, what if he ran away because of me? What if I was too clingy and he needed to get away?" "Jeongin is just as clingy as you so that's not even possible. I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for all of this." He looked up at me, sniffling back some tears. "Why are you so calm about this? Your boyfriend, your baby boy, is missing."

Why am I so calm? My baby is missing. "I guess I'm just trying to remain positive in thinking that there's a reasonable explanation. But also, somebody has to remain calm, right?" He nodded, shrugging softly in the process as if to say 'yeah I guess.'

Jisung and Felix both ran back into the room, concern and dread written on their faces. "Anything?" They both shook their heads, silence falling over the room. "Okay, somebody call Seungmin, he's gonna have to stay here with Hyunj-" "Whoa whoa whoa. Wherever you guys are going, I'm going too. Jeongin is my friend too." "Jinnie," Jisung began, "You're still in recovery. You can't be moving around too much." "I don't care. Either let me go with you or I'll make Seungmin take me." I sighed, knowing that Seungmin will do anything that Hyunjin asks. "Fine. But you're staying in the car no matter what happens, got it?" He only nodded, Jisung helping him up and out to the car.

Felix came closer, his voice lowering as he questioned, "Hyung, where do you think he is? Where are we going to look first?" "I'm not sure, Felix. Honestly, we're going to call the police first and make sure that Raein in locked up, and if he is, we'll just starting going from neighborhood to neighborhood looking for him." He only nodded, clearly bothered by the idea that it could be because of Raein. As he walked towards the car, I only followed behind, trying my best to remain positive about the situation. It's difficult to remain calm, though, when your precious little boy is lost somewhere out there in the world. Lost and confused without his best friend, without his caregiver, without his comfort.

~

"Okay, thank you so much." Felix hung up the phone, immediately breaking down into tears. "He's out. Somebody posted his bail." "He was allowed to have a bail?!" Felix only nodded, falling into the embrace of Jisung, who tried his best to comfort him. My blood began to boil from anger as I tried to think of who could have bonded him out.

My phone started to ring, breaking the silence. Answering the call, I put the phone on speaker, not wanting to hide anything from the guys. No matter how scary. "Hello?" "Hello, Chan. Or is it Chris? I get so confused." "You son of a bitch. Where is he?" "Now, that's not really the way to talk to the man with a knife to your boyfriend's throat, is it?" I gulped, the thought enough to make me go silent.

"That's more like it. Now," He began, the line going silent for a moment before he spoke up once more. "I'm not going to tell you where Jeongin is, or give you clues, because quite frankly, I want him to myself. So, here's what's going to happen." My jaw clenched, hating how he thinks he can tell me what's going to happen with my boyfriend. "I'm going to keep little Jeongin here for a while, have some fun. And then, when I'm done, I'll return him to you." "Jeongin is not an object that you can just pass around! He's a human being for Christ's sake!"

"Well, now, that's not true at all." Excuse me? "Human beings are objects. And people like Jeongin? They're merely toys. Isn't that right, Kitten?" I heard a small cry on the other end of the line, which only caused my blood to boil even more.

"You listen here you piece of absolute garbage. We're going to find you, and when we do, I'm going to beat the ever living shit out of you." Raein began to laugh, and when he did, the sounds of Jeongin's cries became louder. "You aren't going to to do anything. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some catching up to do with my little Kitten." The line went dead as he hung up, leaving me speechless with anger.

"Hyung..." Hyunjin whispered, tears in his eyes. I looked at the other two, seeing that their eyes were filled with tears as well. Raein was on speakerphone the entire time so that the guys could hear him and Jeongin, but it only made the situation worse on them. Understandably.

"Felix, do you know where Raein used to live?" The younger wiped his tears away, nodding his head. "But I doubt he's still there. It would be too easy." He's right. He's too clever for that.
Silence fell over us once more. Until it hit me. "What about the area? Most people like him don't leave the area they hide out in. He's smart enough to not stay in the same place but not smart enough to leave the area." Felix only nodded, taking out his phone to search up the neighborhood. "Hyunjin, you call the police and let them know that he has Jeongin and that we're going to start heading towards this neighborhood." "What about me, Hyung?" Jisung questioned, still sniffling back tears. "I need you to call Minho and see if he'll meet us there. We need someone with his amount of sass to argue with Raein if needed." A small smile crept onto his face as he nodded, immediately calling for his boyfriend.

I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe he has my baby. And that, as we speak, he could be harming my precious little boy. I don't even want to think about what he could be doing to him right now. All I want to focus on is getting Jeongin out of there and back home, safely.