MISSING, jongsang

17 ; well, shit

"mom, i'm home!" yeosang shut the door behind him and his friends, his prior greeting causing footsteps to approach them.

"yeosangie, sweetheart!" the boy's mother said, entering the passageway connected to the front door. "i see your friends are hanging over again?"

"yeah, we'll be in my room!" yeosang hurried out in attempt to beeline towards the staircase, and it seemed to work as his mom didn't protest when he shuffled past her — jongho and san trailing after him. however, yeosang still managed to make out a quick, "i'll be in the kitchen if you need anything!" he didn't bother to reply, though.

turning a corner to where his bedroom was, yeosang stepped aside, allowing the others to step in first.

san, who'd already grown comfortable in yeosang's home, sat himself, legs crossed, on the elder's bed. slipping his backpack off of the one shoulder it was slung over, he unzipped it swiftly, heaving his laptop out of it.

by now, yeosang and jongho had joined the pear-haired boy, sitting behind him as he switched his laptop on.

"hey, sang; remember to breathe, okay?"

"what?" yeosang's head snapped towards jongho at his voice, brain still registering his words.

"you're breathing too fast, pretty," jongho elaborated, chuckling lightly at yeosang's confusion, finding it rather cute, meanwhile bringing a hand onto the latter's back. "take a few deep breaths, hm?"

"o-oh..." yeosang murmured, feeling stupid truthfully. how'd jongho notice his irregular breathing before him? embarrassed was an understatement as yeosang, extremely conscious about the thumb brushing against his spine, did as jongho had told him to. and with the brunette's eyes glued onto him, yeosang couldn't even remember what had gotten him so nervous to begin with.

causing yeosang's cheeks to flood scarlet, jongho's words played over in his head, endlessly on repeat, the severity of them only becoming clearer the more time passed. jongho thought he was... pretty. that's what that meant, right? 

perhaps it was because yeosang had never been referred to as such, or maybe it was because of how casually the compliment was bespoken, he didn't exactly know. but what yeosang did know, although his own desperation did nothing but humiliate him, was that he liked what he'd heard.

the feeling that erupted within him at the thought was completely different to any he'd experienced before, yet the newly discovered didn't scare yeosang away like it usually would've. in fact, it only made him desire more.

"there you go," jongho said, voice gentle and hushed, stroking his fingers along yeosang's nape momentarily. "why were you so nervous, sang?"

yeosang just shrugged over the clacking of san's keyboard. "not sure... but it doesn't matter now."

jongho hummed. "'kay, i believe you. you don't have anything to worry about, though, yeah? we're close to finding him. i promise."

"i know." yeosang nodded his head eagerly. "thanks, jongho."

"hey, guys..." san's hesitant voice came, intervening with jongho's chance to respond; however, he still directed a soft smile to yeosang before turning to the pear-haired boy.

"what is it, san?" yeosang asked, out of curiosity at the misery in the younger's tone. surely nothing could have gone wrong again, he was certain of it.

but san only ran a hand through his head of hair, sighing frustratedly.

"what?" jongho pressed, growing worried.