MISSING, jongsang

29 ; reunions

"i don't even think they're home," wooyoung muttered under his breath after a few rounds of vigorous knocking on the door to his home, only to receive no response each time.

"now, what? do we kick the door down, or something?"

"violence doesn't solve everything, san," yeosang chimed.

san sighed annoyedly. "to enlighten you, i was being sarcastic."

"oh! my apologies! but, y'know, that's pretty hard to believe when you break into convenience stores as if it's the norm."

breath hitching, san glared at yeosang momentarily, before avoiding wooyoung's utter confusion by finding interest in a boring, old brick wall. yeosang then chuckled nervously, quickly adding, "calm down, wooyoung, it was only a joke."

"yeah," san agreed, nodding his head up and down. "j-just an inside joke, yeah."

san sighed, relieved, whilst wooyoung's eyebrows only furrowed further. and yeosang, despite his countless inaccurate accusations on the pear-haired boy, couldn't help but ponder exactly how much wooyoung didn't know. by no means would he get in between their relationship; all he wanted was to make sure san wasn't making stupid decisions, though he wasn't sure someone like him had the right to instruct him on doing so.

suddenly, causing the three to snap their heads towards the rumbling engine, a car pulled up outside of wooyoung's house.

"m-mom...?" wooyoung shoved past the two boys, san thoughtfully stepping to the side to let him past, smiling small in endearment.

meanwhile, wooyoung's mother stepped out of her car, before finally noticing the male stumbling in her direction. bewildered, she was frozen-stiff, eyes widening along with her mouth.  "oh my- wooyoung..."

wooyoung beamed, laughing a bit at the shock painted across his mother's features. through a whirlwind of inexpressible emotions, she instantly swallowed her son up into her arms, squeezing him securely.

"ah- mom..." wooyoung hissed, gesturing towards his hip once under his mother's panicked gaze.

guiltily scrambling backwards, she frowned deeply. "oh no, honey, who did this to you? we have to see the police right away, we can—"

"i know, i know," wooyoung softly interrupted. "but i'm alright now, seriously. of course it's gonna hurt for a while longer but sannie did a great job bandaging me up, don't worry."

"ah, that choi san is a lovely kid, isn't he?"

"mhm, he sure is, mom." wooyoung chuckled, amused. "he's right there, too!"

wooyoung's mother followed her son's finger, eyes lighting up at the two figures by her doorstep — standing awkwardly with each other's presence. "huh, you visit your friends before your own mother?" she said light-heartedly with a playful scoff.

"they saved me, mom," wooyoung mumbled under his breath, as he glanced up at his pair of favourite people fondly. "it's crazy, i didn't even know they had it in them—" "asshole," a mutter came from yeosang's right "—but they did. they really did."

———

it was during lunch with wooyoung, his parents, and san when yeosang's mother barged in on them, distressed.

teary-eyed, she frantically rushed over to her son, flailing herself around him as she sobbed.

"w-what the- mom?" yeosang whispered. he couldn't take any more bad news; after all, that's what he assumed was coming. the past two months had been the very worst of his life, and he thought he'd lose himself if things were to become any worse.