𝐍𝐎 𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘, 𝐍𝐎 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄.양중원

monday blues

"before you know it, summer has passed and it's fall,

the morning is too far, 

so say it ditto."

THE air on the monday morning of september 25th was none but gloomy. it felt desolate, and the day had not even started. jungwon sits in his usual seat, adjacent to the window. the view was especially beautiful normally, but on days like this, it felt like nothing special. it had lost it's usual spark.

it seems that for the whole school, as if everyone was haunted. how could someone part of their community go missing? someone they so closely knew?  it wasn't long before speculation started, before people grew increasingly apprehensive.

jungwon watches his fellow classmates fill in, some buzzing in conversation regarding the weekend search party, some doing everything to mention anything but minjun. gyuvin isn't here yet, so he busies himself with internal dialogue, staring emptily at the fluttering leaves brushing across campus.

minjun's missing. a lot of people would want him missing. that provides for a lot of speculation. despite people saying that he 'went missing on purpose,' jungwon refuses to believe that minjun ever was at that level of an attention seeker.

meanwhile, jihye stands by the mirror of the deserted girls' toilets, lending yunah her cushion foundation as minji washes her hands. yunah hums thoughtfully, jihye suckling on a lollipop as she leans against the wall next to the dryer, scrolling on her phone mindlessly. minji moves to the dryer, drying her hands, holding that same little smile she always has on.

"guys?" yunah speaks up, thoughtfully.

the other two look up at her, minji humming in acknowledgement and jihye tilting her head in a gesture for her to continue.

"what do you think happened to minjun?" yunah frowns, fixing her bangs, as jihye removes her lollipop with a pop. she hums thoughtfully.

minji goes a little quiet, that tiny smile dropping by an inch. she looks a little uncomfortable at the least, and she looks at jihye, cracking a smile to lighten the atmosphere. "you tell us your thoughts, miss 'future criminal lawyer.'"

jihye chuckles in response, raising her hands in defeat. "i have no idea. im just gonna.. mind my own business for this one. the police have a job to do, they'll do it. hopefully."

minji just nods, yunah chuckling and handing her cushion back. they walk towards their homeroom class, walking in just a minute late. 

"girls, you're late." mr yoo speaks up, leaving minji and yunah a little flustered, trying to think of an excuse.

"sorry, sir. emergency. you wouldn't need details, would you?" jihye speaks, before they can even comprehend or process her words. she tilts her head and blinks softly, building a picture of innocence, in aims to deceit their homeroom teacher. 

and it clearly works, as he flushes, clearing his throat. "right. take your seats."

minji giggles softly, yunah subtly high fiving her, as they take their seats, jungwon and jihye holding eye contact for nothing but a split second, as she moves to take her seat.

"and throw your lollipop away."

jihye grumbles, throwing it into the bin, as she finally takes her respective seat, mr yoo clears his throat, fixing the sleeves of his polo shirt.

"Miss Mun has announced a last minute assembly during homeroom, today. please walk in single order, each of our representatives at the front or back."

jungwon and jihye hate being at the front because then that means they have to sit next to mr yoo. so, per tradition, they wordlessly compete in an iconic round of rock, paper, scissors.

'gai, bai, po!'

jungwon's rough, vein-marbled hand shows scissors-- jihye's smooth, manicured hand showing paper. she sighs in defeat, just slumping and walking to the front, jungwon smirking in silent accomplishment as he takes his place at the back of the line.

jihye takes her seat next to mr yoo, crossing her legs and watching attentively, narrowing her eyes at the familiar face of the decelis academy headmaster, Miss Mun Seolhyun. she speaks, her voice cold and clear. "rise."

the students follow her command, rising, as a police constable walks onto the stage alongside her, miss mun leaving nothing but a nod of acknowledgement to the students.

"you may sit. please remain quiet and respectful as our guest speaks to you all."

the main hall falls into pin-drop silence, the students of decelis academy watching with bated breath. jihye can feel herself getting goosebumps, and she's not sure if that's a good thing.

"hi, all. im police constable park, and i lead investigations such as kidnappings and disappearances under the seoul police force."

some murmurs errupt, as jungwon's shoulders tense, the unpredictability of it all getting to him.

"im sure you are all aware of the disappearance of your friend and classmate, hwang minjun. the police are here to release a statement to free you of any worries you may withhold at this moment in time,"

"hwang minjun was officially reported missing at 18:27 hours by a student at this school. to that student, we thank you for your initiative." jihye grumbles incoherently, a near-silent protest to the officers' commendation of the boy. yeah, jungwon did have the initiative to do that, but it's still annoying hearing him get praised.

"however, the seoul police force, after spending the past two days in efforts of search, have decided to drop the case momentarily, due to minjun's case not being high risk. as a force we have high demand, and we work based on most dangerous cases. we believe minjun's case to not withhold any threat to himself nor anyone he is involved with. we also are at our highest volume of kidnap cases, which require the whole force in action. we thank you for your understanding, apologise for any inconvenience, and request to keep any speculation to a minimum. thank you."

the hall is still quiet, the words of the constable sitting uncomfortably in the pits of jihye's stomach. for some reason, she is absolutely convinced that something has in fact happened to minjun, and, being the stubborn girl she is, she will absolutely do anything she can to find out what it is.

and it seems she's not the only one.