- An Infectious Smile - Baek Dohwa

Chapter 23

{Dohwa's POV}

I decided to walk with Dae-Hyun back to his house so that I could see Y/N. It didn't look like anyone at our school was trying to look for her besides Eun-Young. Maybe she could go back tomorrow with no worries about someone stalking her. I was also hoping to be to tell my friends how I felt about her and how she liked me back.

Coming up to the house, I ran ahead of Dae-Hyun, swinging the door open. Y/N wasn't sitting in the living room, so I walked over to her bedroom door, acting like an excited puppy. I knocked, but there was no response. Slowly opening the door, I peeked my head inside, but there still wasn't anyone in there.

"Dae-Hyun, Y/N isn't here!" I said with a pout on my face. I pulled out my phone, pressing the call button. Dae-Hyun walked over doing the same thing, but no response. I heard a buzzing coming from the living room, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Dae-Hyun reached downwards under the couch and was able to grab something. It was Y/N's phone.

"This doesn't seem like her," Dae-Hyun said, looking at me worriedly.

"Maybe she went for a walk? Get out for a bit, you know?" I asked, starting to feel anxious about her.

"Should we walk around and hopefully find her?"

"Please?" I begged, leaving my bag by the door and leaving with Dae-Hyun.

We walked around to all of her usual places. Dae-Hyun took me to places that I didn't think Y/N would go to. We had no luck locating her. My heart began to sink in my chest, getting heavier and heavier. I was losing hope. Dae-Hyun was determined to find her. It was like protective brother mode had turned on once we realized her phone was left behind.

"Should we make a police report? We have evidence of what might've happen to her," I suggested.

"No, we can find her ourselves," he said.

"What about your mom? She'll be worried!"

"We'll just tell her that she's with Eun-Young,"

"Dae, but she's-"

"SHUT UP! WE CAN FIGURE IT OUT! Y/N IS PROBABLY FINE!" he screamed. During our friendship, we have never raised our voices at each other or fought about anything. I was taken back at his words. I fell silent and he turned away from me. I knew he regretted what he had done.

I led him over to a park, sitting on a bench so that we could gather our thoughts. I held his head in his hands as he looked to the ground. This wasn't like Y/N at all and he knew it. He tried to not show how much he cared for his sister, but he truly did.

"Did you know this is Y/N's favorite place?" I asked him. He looked up at me, not saying a word. "You can see the sunset from here, but with the buildings, it becomes a silhouette. It's beautiful," I recited Y/N's words.We looked to the city skyline, watching the sunset. "I know that you are worried about your sister. You try not to show it, but we need to think about it."

"I just don't want to find out she's hurt or even worse," he replied.

"I don't want that either. You're my best friend. I'll follow your lead in anything. But we need to think about this. Maybe it might be time to bring the police into this, or to tell your mom."

Dae-Hyun nodded as I could see him start to break down. I've never seen him like this, but I comforted him, telling him that we would find his sister.