A House Made of Cards {Ateez au}

Chapter 16 - The Search

It's cold.

That thought was all Jongho could think about as he searched the snow-covered forest for his brother's missing boyfriend.

One month, that's how long it's been since Yeosang had been home. November had faded to December. The fall leaves had long since disappeared, now replaced my empty, dull, branches and a whole lot of snow. It was unfair, Jongho thought, that the snow could make everything so pretty when everything was so wrong.

They searched day and night, never stopping.

As Jongho walked, he left footprints in the snow. Once perfectly white areas turned ugly with mud.

A reminder that everything Jongho touched turned ugly in some way. He only served to make things worse.

He couldn't help but think things would be better if he wasn't there.

He shook the thought out of his head, continuing the search for their missing teammate. There was no trace of anybody anywhere. No trace of Yeosang, no trace of Wooyoung, no trace of Seonghwa, and no trace of Yunho.

He ended his search with nothing to show for it and he made his way back to the base.

Someone needed to take care of San.

His brother had fallen into a deep, deep, depression about a week after Yeosang's disappearance. Despite hoping and crying for the boy to return, he was losing hope. He didn't know what they did with Yeosang, they didn't know if he was even alive.

Jongho knew he was alive. From his time spent listening to Wooyoung rant about how much he wanted the boy, he thought it difficult to believe Wooyoung would kill him that quickly.

No, Wooyoung would keep him. He would keep him to himself. Jongho knew Wooyoung. He wouldn't care if he hurt the boy, he would only care that he was kept by his side.

Jongho also knew Wooyoung was unstable, and he knew Yeosang was stubborn.

He didn't know what Wooyoung would do if Yeosang tried to leave, he didn't know if he'd kill the boy in a random burst of anger. Wooyoung was not very good at handling anger. He could be mad at Seonghwa and he'd hurt Yeosang just because Yeosang was the one standing there. Then he would apologize, and he'd hug Yeosang until he forgave him.

Wooyoung was loving in a ruthless way.

He opened the door to the base, sliding in and removing his coat. He wiped his shoes on the doormat to get any snow and mud off, then he made his way up to his brother's room.

He found the door and knocked gently. "San?" he called, his voice soft, sympathetic to the situation he knew his brother was in. "I know you're in there."

His brother was always in his room now. He hasn't left. Jongho would like to think it was because it pained him to see the base without Yeosang in it.

"San," Jongho said again, frowning as he knocked a little harder.

"Yes?" San called, voice muffled and sounding off, Jongho assumed the worst.

"I'm coming in!" He said.

"Wait-" before he could finish, Jongho opened the door. San stood in the room, hair messy and the same clothes he's been wearing all week. There were bottles and bottles of bear everywhere.

Jongho crossed his arms and looked at San. The older boy was clearly drunk, he could hardly stand up straight. Jongho looked at him for a few moments, then his face softened.

He sighed. "San-". He was cut off when the older boy attempted to step forward but fell. Jongho had to rush to catch him and ensure he didn't fall flat on his face. He dragged the older to his bed and dropped him there. "You need to take care of yourself," he groaned. "This isn't healthy! You're hurting yourself!"