You Belong With Me | Jeongcheol Fanfic

Chapter 36

The next day at school, Jeonghan's absence was immediately noticeable. His usual seat in the classroom was empty, and his friends exchanged puzzled glances. Seungcheol looked around, searching for any sign of him, but there was nothing. His texts to Jeonghan had gone unanswered since the night before, and now he was starting to worry.

During lunch, the group gathered at their usual spot, but there was a strange tension in the air. Even Seungkwan, who was typically the life of the group, seemed quieter than usual. Hansol nudged him gently, giving him a concerned look.

"Has anyone heard from Jeonghan?" Seungcheol finally asked, his voice edged with concern.

Mingyu shook his head. "Nothing. It's weird, he didn't even say anything about not coming to school."

"Maybe he's sick?" Wonwoo offered, though even he didn't seem convinced.

Seungcheol couldn't shake the uneasy feeling gnawing at him. It wasn't like Jeonghan to just disappear without a word, especially to him. His mind raced with possibilities—none of them good.

As the day dragged on, Seungcheol found himself distracted in class, glancing at his phone every few minutes, hoping for some kind of message from Jeonghan. By the time the final bell rang, he still hadn't heard anything.

The group slowly dispersed, but Seungcheol couldn't bring himself to leave. He stayed back, lingering in the now-empty classroom, staring at Jeonghan's desk. His mind was filled with questions—where was Jeonghan, and why hadn't he told anyone where he was?

~

Despite being surrounded by his friends, Seungcheol couldn't shake the hollow feeling growing in his chest. Even as they chatted and tried to lift the mood, it was as if the room had become dimmer in Jeonghan's absence. No amount of conversation or laughter seemed to break through the quiet sense of loneliness he felt.

Hansol and Seungkwan were joking around, with Seungkwan dramatically recounting some funny incident from class, but Seungcheol's mind was elsewhere. His gaze kept drifting to the empty space where Jeonghan would usually be—smiling, teasing, making the group feel whole.

It wasn't like him to feel this detached. Normally, he'd be right in the middle of things, but today, it all felt off without Jeonghan. The absence was heavy, like the silence after a song cuts off suddenly.

Dino nudged him lightly, snapping him back to reality. "Hey, you okay? You've been zoning out for a while."

Seungcheol forced a smile, trying to brush it off. "Yeah, I'm fine... just tired, I guess."

But he wasn't fine. Not really.

Wonwoo gave him a knowing look, but didn't push further. "Maybe he's just busy. Jeonghan's probably fine. He'll show up tomorrow with some elaborate story, like always."

Seungcheol nodded, but his heart wasn't convinced. He knew Jeonghan better than that. Something didn't feel right, and the thought of him being distant or upset, or worse, hurt, gnawed at him. His mind kept replaying their last conversation, wondering if he'd missed any signs, anything that might explain why Jeonghan had vanished so suddenly.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, and by the time Seungcheol walked home, the loneliness only grew. It was strange how one person could affect his entire world like this. Without Jeonghan around, everything felt... incomplete.

~

As soon as Seungcheol left school, he pulled out his phone and immediately texted Jeonghan again.

"Hey, are you okay? I didn't see you today. Let me know when you get this."

He stared at the screen, waiting, hoping the three little dots of a reply would appear—but nothing. The minutes dragged on, and his phone remained stubbornly silent. He tried to shake off the growing anxiety, telling himself that Jeonghan was probably just busy, maybe his phone had died, or he was caught up in something. But deep down, that didn't feel right. Jeonghan always responded quickly, especially to him.