Two-faced

- his escape -

[ Friday 3 pm ]

"Have you seen him at all today?"

"No, when i woke up he was gone already but I had assumed he just went to class early," Chanhee tells me.

"And you're sure he wasn't at lunch?" Jacob asks.

"Yeah, while you guys were turning in the cameras I looked around campus for him. He's no where," Chanhee sighs. "Guys I'm starting to worry."

"Me too," Jacob frowns.

"Have you asked Jia?" I ask. As if on cue the pretty girl walks up behind me in the hallway and stops where we're standing.

"No, I don't know where Sunwoo is. But you should find him soon- he sounds desperate," Jia says with a blank, slightly annoyed face.

"He contacted you?? When?" Jacob says.

"Before he left to go wherever he went. And it doesn't seem like he's in danger. I mean desperate in like- the annoying way. He sounded ridiculous." Jia flips her long hair.

"He didn't say where he was going?" Chanhee asks.

"Don't you think I would've told you if he did?" Jia snaps, and pauses before walking away.

"What's up with her?" Chanhee rolls his eyes.

"I wonder what he said to Jia before he left," I say.

"No time to figure out, we should start looking outside of campus," Jacob says and we walk out of the hallway.

"Okay but like, he could be anywhere," Chanhee says.

"We should call him," I suggest.

Jacob dials his number and it goes straight to voicemail. Chanhee tries and it beeps a few times before we hear his ridiculous voicemail again. "Hello? Just kidding... I'm not actually here. Leave a message please, beeep"

"Lemme try," I dial his number and surprisingly he picks up. It sounds like strong wind behind him.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Stop calling me, I'm fine." He says in his normal moody voice.

"Okay... but where are you?" I ask, and he hangs up before I can finish.

"Jesus, he sounds so angsty right now. maybe we should just leave him be," Chanhee says.

"No, we leave nobody behind!" Jacob says. "We search."

The three of us split up in different directions, although after 10 minutes of walking alone I realize that he has a car so sunwoo could be anywhere.

I think back to the phone conversation and then it hits me. It wasn't wind- it was the sound of waves crashing. There's a boating dock biking distance from school he must be there.

Around the corner I rent a bike and twist and turn roads until I make it to the land stretched out in front of the sparking sea. It smells salty, and both large and small boats and yachts blow softly in the breeze.

It's peaceful here. Couples, families, and other people walk along the path or dip their feet in the water.

I stop the bike to look at my surroundings, searching for my friend.

There's a bench sitting on the pathway in front of the sea. It's perfect to get a view of everything.

Sitting on the bench I see a familiar curly haired head. He sits in the middle of the bench, probably so nobody will sit next to him.

I drop the bike and jog over to him. I stand behind his bench and lean over sunwoos shoulder. He doesn't notice me because he has earbuds in.

I take the left side out and put it in my ear, the soft music taking over my senses.