Alone (hyungwonho)

8.

I opened my eyes. The very first thing I saw, was Hoseok sitting on the floor of the abandoned house. I yawned and looked over at him.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Reading."

"What time is it? I don't actually remember falling asleep." I then asked, standing up.

Hoseok hummed. "Don't know. I haven't checked."

I turned my eyes to my phone. I tried opening it, but I soon realized it was dead.

"Great. My phone is dead." I muttered.

"Well if it helps at all... it's probably morning because the sun is up on the sky and it's a bit foggy outside." Hoseok said, raising his eyes from the book.

"Morning? What the fuck? I slept here all night?"

"You did."

I started quickly packing up my things. Hoseok eyed me, he then moved closer and grabbed my hand.

"Why in a hurry?"

I yanked my hand away from him. "Because my parents are going to kill me."

"Well, if they're going to kill you for this... it won't hurt if you stay a little longer, right?"

I let my shoulders relax a little as I thought about it. "You're right. I'm in deep shit anyway."

"Sit down next to me." Hoseok offered.

I did as he asked, and I glanced at his book. "What is it?" I asked.

Hoseok smiled gently. "It's called ice flowers."

"What is it about?"

Hoseok ran his fingers through his hair. "It's about a boy, who sees everything in gray and white until he meets his first love. His love lets him see the true colors of the world."

"That's nice..."

"It is... but there are some bad things too." Hoseok frowned.

"What are they?"

After a low hum, Hoseok closed the book. "The boy's first love dies, and the boy follows the soul of his former lover everywhere, without realizing that the lover is dead."

I frowned too. "That's... disturbing?"

"A bit." Hoseok admitted.

I stretched my arms and then legs. Then I laid down on the floor. I eyed Hoseok, who had opened the book again. I liked it when we were quiet. I loved to look at his features because they had something very enchanting in them. His dark hair seemed to be always perfect. His skin seemed always clean and even his body was in good shape.

Suddenly Hoseok looked at me in the eyes. "Do you like me that much?" He teased.

I could feel my face turning red, but I managed to keep my expression cool. "No. You just have something on your chin."

Hoseok laughed. "I know I don't have anything there."

"How?"

Hoseok ignored the question and turned back to his book. I decided to look elsewhere.

Suddenly there was a noise, which came from the front door. I quickly glanced over at Hoseok, who put his book away and stood up.

"I have to go... but you can always text me." He said before running to the back yard.

I looked after him, but someone came in. I heard their steps coming closer. For some reason, I felt a bit anxious.

A head peeked from the doorway. "Hyungwon!"

I relaxed a little when I realized it was Changkyun.

"what the heck are you doing in here?" He asked as he walked closer.

"Nothing." I responded.

He seemed to take that as an answer. "Do you have any idea how many people are out there looking for you?" He then asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "Looking for me? What do you mean?"

"I mean, that your parents, my parents, Kihyun's parents, Hyunwoo, Minhyuk, Jooheon and I have been looking for you, for over an hour now." He said.

I stood up, taking my bag. "Why?"

"You ask me why? Geez... you never came to the last lessons yesterday and you didn't even go home... your parents were shitting themselves. Your mom was saying stuff like, he's kidnapped! Someone murdered him!"

I rolled my eyes. "And all I wanted was peace and quiet..."

"Well, I hope you had a great time here... in this abandoned house, but now I would like to go home... so, let's call someone." Changkyun sighed.

"Can I use your phone?" I asked.

"Um, sure..." Changkyun said as he handed it to me.

I scrolled typed in the number and pressed call.

"Hi? Have you heard anything?" I heard my mom's voice ask.

"It's me. Changkyun apparently found me." I said bluntly.

"Hyungwon! Where have you been! We were so worried!"

"I have been somewhere. Does it really matter?"

"It does! Where are you now? I'll come to pick you up."

I sighed. "No need. I'll walk home. See you there." I closed the call and handed the phone back to Changkyun.

He eyed me before putting it into his pocket.

"Want to walk with me?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I'll have to walk anyways."

We walked down the street quietly. I knew Changkyun wasn't usually curious, but I also knew that he just had to ask me the one question.

"Did you like... meet someone?" He asked, just as I expected.

"No. That house is a place I go when I want to escape home." I said.

He nodded. He didn't ask any more questions, which I appreciated a lot. I knew I would have to be answering some more when I got home.

After a ten-minute walk, I was standing at the front door of my home. Changkyun waved goodbye to me and left. I stared at the door for a few seconds before opening it. As soon as I stepped in, my mom rushed up to me. She looked at me from head to toe and sighed.

"How can you just disappear like that?" She asked me, sounding disappointed.

I shrugged and took off my shoes.

"Why are your clothes so dirty? Where have you been?"

Again, I shrugged and walked past her. I walked into the living room and saw my father sitting on the armchair. He looked up at me.

"Chae Hyungwon." He started, and I already knew I was in trouble.

"You're grounded."

"Ok."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Okay? That's your answer? I expect an apology for making your mother so worried."

"Sorry. Is that good enough?" I said. "I would like to go get a shower now."

He sighed and waved me off. I went to my room and grabbed clothes from my closet. When I walked back to the hallway, I heard my parents speaking.

"You can't go so easy on him anymore." My father said.

"But... I..."

"He skipped three lessons and the extra class. He has to learn to be more responsible." My father said.

I sighed and went into the bathroom. This was going to be hard, but luckily, I could always text Hoseok.