Out of the Loop

Anxiety

Opening the front door, the frigid outside environment sent shivers down their spines. Even with layers, it was cold outside.

As they walked in their winter boots, they looked out for any tracks the maknae could have left. Lucky for them, Jungkook made no effort to hide his footprints in the snow. They trailed after the path the youngest had left.

By the time the two had reached the sidewalk, the snow had slowed down significantly.

Hand in hand, Hoseok and Namjoon had followed the faint tracks left by the youngest in the snow. Where had that boy run off to?

They walked along the icy sidewalk, careful as to not slip on any ice. "How far do you think he got?" Namjoon asked the elder.

Hoseok shrugged, "Hopefully not too far, though I do hope he's inside somewhere warm."

"Me too."

They kept making their way there slowly, though it was hard to traverse when there was no sunlight in sight. Clouds covered the sky, so the boys only had street lamps to guide their way. It wasn't even too late into the afternoon.

It wasn't until Namjoon saw something up ahead that they both stopped.

"Joonie, what's wrong?"

Namjoon stayed silent, letting go of Hoseok's hand to rush over, albeit cautiously, to what lied on the ground. In his mind he was begging, just begging for it to be just a pile of snow.

This must've been some cruel joke.

"JUNGKOOK!?"

No response. As he approached the lump of snow, he noticed it was not Jungkook. It was Cooky; a stuffie of his bt21 character. What was this doing here?

But more importantly, where the hell had Jungkook gone?

Hoseok approached from behind, "Did you find him?"

Namjoon couldn't think of the words to say. There was too much buzzing through his mind. Firstly the fight, then the tension in the dorm, and now Jungkook being missing. It was beginning to feel like too much.

"Namjoon?" Hoseok tapped the leader, who continuously stared at the stuffie. Only a thin layer of snow laid on it, covering the pink fabric ever so slightly.

Their maknae had been here, but who knows how long ago that could've been? There were no more tracks to follow, it looked as if the stuffie had made its way there itself.

"The tracks..." Namjoon crouched down to pick up the stuffie. "They're gone."

"How is that possible?" Hoseok look beyond where they had found the stuffie, noticing that there were indeed no more tracks. It was as if Jungkook had disappeared from the world.

Getting back up, Namjoon brushed off the snow that plagued the plushie. It looked worn-out, and the snow certainly didn't help maintain the state of its fabric.

"Maybe he went the other way?" Hoseok tried to be positive, but positivity was hard when hope is lost.

"No, no he couldn't that's impossible." Namjoon stated without emotion. There was a slight shake in his voice as the leader was trying to keep everything together. Everything would be fine, he had to remind himself.

Everything would be fine.

"What if he was taken..."

"Hobi, no." Namjoon tried to block out the thought.

"I'm just saying, he could've been snatched! My poor Kookie—"

"He wasn't taken, end of discussion."