fade | jookyun

16

all six men were packed into hyungwon's car, hyungwon in the driver's seat and hoseok in the passenger seat. meanwhile, jooheon, changkyun, kihyun, and hyunwoo were squished into the back.

"hyunwoo, could you move over?" kihyun grumbled.

"i can't!" hyunwoo replied.

"well, i'm smushed." kihyun said.

"are you calling me fat?" hyunwoo gasped.

jooheon was trying to put a seatbelt on changkyun, who refused to wear it.

"put it on! safety first!" jooheon insisted.

"jooheon, there's no room for me to buckle up..." changkyun sighed.

"what? come on, put it on." jooheon protested.

"i'm not a baby..." changkyun mumbled as jooheon searched for the buckle.

"you're my baby." jooheon cooed.

changkyun groaned and slapped his forehead.

in the front, hoseok was rubbing hyungwon's arm with concern. "are you sure you can drive? you're still not fully healed."

hyungwon leaned over to peck hoseok's forehead. "don't worry, i'll be fine. let's find minhyuk."

-

meanwhile, minhyuk was currently not wanting to be found. he sat slumped against a dirty brick wall, his face battered and bruised. his body ached, bit he'd won. he'd gotten what he'd wanted, though not without a few scratches, which minhyuk had expected. he reached into the deep pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a small roll of gauze, barely enough to wrap around his wrist twice. he would have to use it sparingly.

minhyuk stretched his legs, checking for any injuries. he didn't feel any pain, so he examined his arms. he winced when he saw a long gash running across his palm.

"shit," he murmured under his breath. "how did i not notice that?"

blood dripped down minhyuk's forearm, staining his expensive jacket dark red.

"shit, shit, shit." he hissed, hurrying to cover the wound as best as he could. he wound the gauze around his hand, turning it red as the blood seeped through.

he checked his face and torso and came away — fortunately — with no blood on his fingers.

minhyuk patted his prize, which lay next to him. he grinned weakly and staggered to his feet, gripping it tightly in his uninjured hand.

stuffing it under his shirt, he walked out of the now-abandoned alleyway and stumbled home.

-

the car was pulled over on the side of the road so hyungwon could take a break. the six men had been in the car for the entire day. the sun had set long ago, and the world was coated in a blanket of stars.

"hyungwon, i think we should go home." hoseok whispered in his soulmate's ear.

hyungwon, who was leaning over the steering wheel and beginning to snore lightly, snapped awake. "no! we have to find him!"

"hyungwon, everyone else is asleep. it's been hours. we drove all over the city. we have to leave." hoseok said.

hyungwon looked in the mirror. hoseok was right: jooheon, changkyun, kihyun, and hyunwoo were fast asleep, leaning on each others' shoulders for support. he turned back to face hoseok. "but we have to find him."

"i really think we should head home." hoseok insisted gently.

suddenly, a tear spilled from hyungwon's eye, then another and another. he sobbed as hoseok held him in his muscly arms, pulling him close to his chest. "it's okay."

"it's not. it's not! we... we have to find him! he's our friend!" hyungwon choked out. he looked hoseok in the eyes. "if it was me, would you keep looking?"

hoseok sighed and squeezed hyungwon a little closer. "alright. we'll keep searching, okay? don't cry."

and the only things lighting up the dark night were the moon, the streetlights, and the dim glow of their hearts.

-

it was 2:30 am. they were still driving. hoseok had taken hyungwon's place in the driver's seat. hyungwon was leaning against the window, his eyes closed and his full lips slightly parted.

hoseok yawned. driving was tiring. he shook himself awake. "don't fall asleep," he murmured. "we have to find minhyuk."

he was surprised when his phone rang, and was even more startled when he saw who it was. he pulled over and shook hyungwon, who squinted groggily at him.

"wh-wha? did we find him?" he mumbled sleepily.

hoseok held up his phone, and that was all hyungwon needed.

"well, what are you waiting for? pick up!" he urged hoseok.

hoseok accepted the call and put it on speaker while hyungwon awoke the others.

"hoseok?"

"minhyuk! thank god you're okay! we were all so worried!"

hyungwon shoved hoseok aside, his eyes watery. "we missed you! don't disappear like that again... dumb shit! i was going to have a panic attack! we told the fucking police!" his voice became louder and louder.

"i'm sorry. you didn't have to do that. i'm fine, i was just going out. you guys overreacted." minhyuk muttered.

"then why'd you leave your ring at home?" hoseok piped up.

on the other side of the line, minhyuk froze. because i didn't want anything valuable on me. if i wore it, it would be long gone, he thought. "where i was going, there was no jewelry allowed."