MISSING, jongsang

01 ; the call

"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.