Youth | Gyuhao

- 56

| Chapter Fifty - Six — Cheolsoo's flicker and lesser lies told |

Mingyu's looked everywhere.

Every single room.

Upstairs. Downstairs. He can't find him.

He's beaten up so many people who tried to stop him already that his knuckles are red, blood from the lips and noses of his father's men staining his skin like paint on a blank canvas.

He's out of breath now, leaning against the wall with a heavy chest and a sore heart. His bottom lip is busted, he can taste the copper on his tongue.

He can feel tears of frustration prick at the corner of his eyes but he wants to do anything but let them spill. He can't be seen as weak, he has to be strong.

He can't cry. Not now. Not when Minghao was missing and not when there's a chance he could be dead.

Dead.

Mingyu doesn't want that to be an option.

He rolls his eyes at his habit of overthinking, wiping the blood off his lips with the back of his palm and continuing his search.

He clocks his gun, just now realizing that it had gotten far too quiet.

He notices bodies on the floor when he rounds a corner, eyes widening when he doesn't recall every beating these specific people up. He had never seen their faces today.

Mingyu's heart leaps in surprise when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He immediately shrugs the person off and slams them against the wall, gun pointed in their direction.

"Yah!" The boy screams, groaning.

Mingyu immediately lets go, whining, "Sunoo, come on. You know not to do shit like that."

Sunoo ignores him, smacking his chest, "You need to get the hell out of here." He says, looking down at the bodies covering the floor, "I've got your back, hyung. Get to Minghao as fast as you can. He's not safe with Cheol and Shua around." He tells him.

"Where is he?" Mingyu asks, almost as if he didn't hear anything else.

"I'd assume down by the cafeteria. I told him where to go and when to go, so hurry. Make it quick. He left a while ago and I don't know if he got lost or not. I didn't have time to tell him the exact directions," Sunoo swallows, looking around, "They're watching. Someone's always watching."

Mingyu nods, glancing both ways before patting Sunoo's shoulder, "Thank you."

"Get out of here." Sunoo nudges him down the hall, turning his attention on a few more guards that had suddenly ran into the room.

Mingyu bolts down the hallways and makes it to the cafeteria in the time someone could blink. He's breathing heavily and tasting blood on his lip. He can feel the sweat his forehead beading across his hairline.

"Hao," It's quiet. So, he whispers, walking ever so slowly into the room. He hisses as the cafeteria doors swing back and forth behind him, "Minghao, where are you?"

Silence.

Mingyu thinks he's going insane.

"Fuck!" He feels something hit his head suddenly (he thinks it's a pan), body flying forward to hit the cafeteria island. He groans from the impact, eyes widening the best they can when he hears rushed footsteps fade away.

He just but barely sees the flash of brown hair before he's bolting after Minghao.

Minghao had pushed his way through one of the cafeteria doors that had unfortunately only led to a hallway filled with multiple closets of pantry foods and dishes, such as pots and pans.