Alone (hyungwonho)

22.

Hyunwoo was the first one to wake up. He looked over at his sleeping friends and decided to let them sleep a while longer. He went to the kitchen to prepare some coffee. He had heard Kihyun's and Changkyun's conversation last night. It had made him sad, worried and a little bit angry. 

Suddenly he heard someone walking into the kitchen. He turned to look and saw Jooheon walking in, yawning.

"Morning. I started preparing coffee." Hyunwoo said.

"Thanks." Jooheon said and sat down.

"Let's wait for the coffee and wake others up then." Hyunwoo stated as he sat down too.

"Y'know... I feel horrible." Jooheon admitted.

Hyunwoo tilted his head. "Why?"

"I feel like it's our fault that he got so... y'know, messed up." 

Hyunwoo shook his head. "It's not my, your or other's fault."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"We just have to-"

Hyunwoo's phone started ringing. He picked it up from the table and recognized Hyungwon's mother's number. Jooheon looked at him.

"Sorry." Hyunwoo said to him and picked up.

"Good morning." He said.

"Hyunwoo, where are you?"

"Um, we're at Jooheon's. We came here to sleep."

"This is horrible. I- I can't believe it!"

"W-what? What's wrong?"

"H-he's gone! HE'S GONE!!!"

"How? When?"

"He left the hospital last night, we don't know where he is... he just left. The nurses didn't notice he was gone until their morning round. I... I can't believe he just left..."

"Okay, let's make a search party. We'll go look at all the places we know, okay?"

"Thank you... I- he has such good friends..."

"Don't thank me, we're just as worried as you are."

"Inform me if you find anything, please?"

"Or course."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

The call ended. Jooheon looked at Hyunwoo, with wide eyes. 

"W-what happened?"

Hyunwoo eyed him, trying to find the right words. "He... um, Hyungwon ran away from the hospital..."

"What!?" 

"We need to go look for him. His mother sounded really worried, which makes me think, this might be a dangerous situation..." Hyunwoo said.

Jooheon stood up. He went straight to the living room. He woke Kihyun up, then Minhyuk and finally Changkyun. Everyone seemed still half-asleep, but after Jooheon said what's going on, they ran to the kitchen, eyes wide open.

"What!? What did Jooheon just say!?" Kihyun demanded.

Hyunwoo nodded. "It's true. He ran away... we need to go look for him." 

"Everyone! Get your jackets!" Kihyun screamed.

Soon, they were literally patrolling the streets from Kihyun's father's car. They looked around, worried and anxious.

"Where could he be?" Minhyuk asked, sighing.

Changkyun eyed others. "I... I think I have an idea."

"D-do you mean...?" Kihyun asked, carefully.

"Yes." Changkyun nodded. "The abandoned house..."

I ran there. My legs hurt after the journey, which was over a mile long. I rushed into the house, trying to look for Hoseok. I quickly climbed up to the roof and... there he was.

"Hoseok!" I yelled. 

He turned to look at me. His eyes softening. "I knew you would make it."

I nodded. "Well, it was hard, but here I am... what now?"

Hoseok stood up. He walked over at me. "Do you want to come with me?"

"O-of course!"

He smiled. "We need to go somewhere, where no one will find us. They want to tear us apart."

"Y-yeah... but where?" I asked.

Hoseok looked at the sky. The sun was rising. It was a beautiful morning, but I was too exhausted to examine it. 

"I think we just need to get away from this place." Hoseok said, his voice calm. "Get away from the people, that are trying to... get me to go away."

I felt something twist in my stomach. "Do you mean... I would have to leave my family? And my friends?"

"Yes! Of course Hyungwon!" Hoseok yelled, turning to face me. "They are the ones, trying to stop us from seeing each other! They are the bad ones!"

I slumped onto the floor, turning my eyes to my hands from him. "I... I know, but.-"

"No buts! Do you really think they're more important than us!? Really?"

"No... I just... I'm not sure, okay? Ho do you expect me to answer? Do you really think I can just abandon everyone?" I said, feeling my anger trying to come up.

"Yes. I expect you to try... I expect you to try for me, for you... for us." Hoseok said. 

He calmed down a bit. I felt my hands starting to shake. 

"Hoseok...?"

He eyed me. "What?"

"W-what if... what if you're wrong?" I asked him.

His eyes followed me, as I stood up. I walked over to him, trying to seem neutral. I didn't want to anger him.

"What do you mean?" He asked me.

"What if, you're wrong about this? Wrong about us? I... I do like you. You've been here for me, but sometimes... I'm scared of you. You yell at me, you tell me negative things... it's starting to feel like you're trying to make me feel bad!"

I could see the disappointment in his look. He turned around, walking towards the edge of the roof. 

"Is that really how you feel about me?"He asked, his voice calm. Or not calm, but even icy.

"N-no... I just said what I think."

"So, you think I'm bad?"

The words got stuck in my throat. I looked at him. "Hoseok... you didn't answer me."

He didn't respond. He just kept looking away. 

"Answer me!"

"How am I supposed to answer? Don't you realize, that I'm trying to help you?" Hoseok said, finally looking back at me.

"Then why are you making me choose between my life and you!? Why do you think, you're better than the other voices? They are the same as you!"

"No!" Hoseok walked closer to me. "I'm not the same... they're bad. They are bad voices, Hyungwon! I am the good one!"

"How can I be sure!?"

He stopped. He looked at me in the eyes, but it felt like he was glaring into my soul. I suddenly felt an urge to cry. I wanted to yell at him, but at the same time I wanted to hug him... to... No...

"Hoseok... I'm sorry." I mumbled, trying to hold back my tears.

"You said you can't be sure..." He whispered. 

I nodded. 

"I can assure you... if you trust me now, I will keep you safe. I will keep us safe... I promise it."

"What do I need to do?"

Hoseok looked down from the roof. "You need to follow me."

"To where???"

"To..." He breathed in. "To a place, where we are safe..."