Companion | yeongyu/beomjun

= 19: disappearance =

Beomgyu

I was playing in the laundry basket when I heard a light knocking at the door. Quietly, I moved a sock off my head and crept to the door. I grabbed my hat off the hanger and fit it on my head.

Carefully, I peeked through the peephole to see Yeonjun's friend standing there. Happily, I took off my hat and opened the door.

"Hi!"

"Beomgyu! Hey-... Do you know when Yeonjun's coming back?" He asked with a slight smile. I leaned against the doorway and smiled back at him.

"Why do you wanna know?" I asked, "He said he's at work today- but he'll be back in a few hours."

"O-Oh, well- Yeonjun wanted me to tell you that he's working overtime today..." The other said slowly, "And he asked me... to come get you so you two could go to a cafe later."

I raised an eyebrow, tilting my head in confusion.

"Really?"

He nodded and gave me a reassuring smile.

"He couldn't text you since you don't have a phone... so that's why I'm here," He said, laughing nervously. I looked around Yeonjun's house, then back at his friend in the doorway.

"Are you sure Yeonjun sent you. To get... me?" I asked, putting a hand to my chin, "Because last time I saw you, you were mad that I even existed-"

"B-But that's in the past, right?" He chided, "Plus I wasn't mad then, I promise. Yeonjun's waiting for you, we should probably get going."

I quietly reached for my hat that was hanging on a nearby hook.

"Okay... I trust you," I smiled, "Where are we going?"

"R-Right," He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck, "We're just going to his workplace, he says he'll come out when he's taking a break."

I nodded, walking outside with him and closing the door behind me. I was a little scared to admit it, but I forgot his name. He never introduced himself formally to me, I just forgot his name.

"What was your name again?" I asked in a small voice.

"Oh- I'm Taehyun, I don't think I told you last time I saw you," He replied. I hummed in response, looking down at the street ahead of us.

We got to the crosswalk, where we waited quietly to cross. He grabbed my arm, and told me not to run off without him.

"But his workplace is just right there!" I whined, his grip on my arm tightening.

"I-I know, but it's dangerous to cross the street by yourself," Taehyun replied with a laugh, "Besides, Yeonjun would be really worried if you were to run off and get lost..."

He paused, loosening the grip on my arm. We crossed the street and walked to the tavern where Yeonjun worked. I was about to run to the back of the place when Taehyun pulled me back.

"Oh- Looks like he's not on break yet," He said stiffly, not even looking me in the eyes, "Let's go for a little walk before he comes out, alright?"

I smiled and nodded. It looked weird seeing the city in the daytime since I mostly went there around nighttime, stores looked a lot different in the daytime than they did at night.

"Okay! Where are we going?"

I felt Taehyun's grip start to tremble, as he looked off into the distance.

"Just- come with me... There's a cool store I think you'd like," He said sweetly, walking with me down the street.

-------X.☾☁☽.X-------

Yeonjun

"--And then that's when I said, 'Why the hell would you put socks in the sink?' and you know what he says?" Soobin ranted, "He says, that socks go in the dishwasher, not the sink! Can you believe that?"

I blinked and shook my head.

"No Soobin, I cannot believe that," I replied sarcastically.

"That's what I thought too! Like- We have a washing machine for a reason!" Soobin continued, raising his hands, "But noOOoO Jisung says we wash them in the dishwasher! The freaking dishwasher can't even handle a soc-"

I checked the clock, only a couple more minutes left of my shift before I could go home. Business was a lot slower than usual, I barely did anything today but stand around.

After Soobin was finished with his rant about socks and dishwashers, I clocked out. I said goodbye to Soobin, heading out of the front door of the tavern.

I tucked my hands in my pockets and started walking home. I crossed the street again and walked back into my neighborhood. As I got closer to my place, it was a lot- quieter than I expected. Normally Beomgyu would be running around and doing whatever he does whenever I'm not home.

However, this time, it was dead silent inside. Suspicious, I fit my key into the lock, realizing the door was unlocked.

There was a sinking feeling in my gut as I gently pushed open the door.

"Beomgyu?" I called, walking inside and shutting the door behind me, "Are you there?"

Silence.

Carefully, I kicked off my shoes and looked around the house. Maybe he fell asleep somewhere-He could just be hiding somewhere and fell asleep. I moved aside a couple of couch cushions, seeing he wasn't under there either.

"Beomgyu! I'm home!" I called, looking around, "Where'd you go?"

I checked the laundry room, where the basket was toppled over and clothes were everywhere. I snickered to myself, setting the clothes back in the basket.

"Alright Beomgyu, where the heck are you hiding?" I asked out loud, checking the inside of the washing machine, "You didn't drink detergent, right?"

I left the laundry room and went to my bedroom. The bed was a bit of a mess, but no sign of Beomgyu anywhere. I started to get a little worried, checking under my bed and running out into the kitchen.

He was nowhere to be seen. I looked over at the door, my heart almost sunk from what I saw.

His hat was missing, and a pair of shoes were gone too.

I cursed under my breath, clenching my fists.

"God damnit, I told him not to go anywhere," I mumbled, walking over to the door and putting my shoes back on. I checked the clock once again, wondering if Beomgyu went out to look for me.

But I couldn't have been gone for that long, I wondered. Even if he wondered where I was, I told him I would be back soon... and told him not to go out to look for me.

Then how long ago did he leave? I thought to myself. If he left a few minutes after I did, I would've either saw him during my break, or at least somewhere near the tavern since he'd be looking for me.

If he left just recently, I thought, I still would've at least saw him on my way home or he would drop by the workplace and check on me...

Quickly, I put my shoes back on and grabbed my keys. He could be anywhere at this point, whether he left awhile ago or just recently. I walked to the crosswalk and glanced down the street. He was still nowhere to be seen.

"Beomgyu!" I called, looking around. The fear was slowly settling in, as I walked down the street.