Not For Long

.10

Chaeyoung drew her breath deeply, closing her eyes before she walked into a small club, there weren't a lot of people in there and that made her glad. It would be easier to spot him. Her eyes looked around the entire space, teeth biting her lip nervously hoping that he would be there. But no, he wasn't. At least not where she could see him. Perhaps, he was at the restroom. She hoped so.

Quickly, she approached the bartender who seemed to be so into his phone since there was no one sitting at the bar to order some drink. "Excuse me?" she politely greeted him and he looked up, lifting his brow at her and asked if she needed any help. "Yes. I'm looking for..." she hesitated for a while and eventually took out her phone from her pocket, sliding her thumb aggressively as she chased for time. The device was brought to life, and in the homescreen of her phone was of a photo of Jungkook. "Do you happen to see this guy around here today?"

The bartender leaned forward and Chaeyoung held her breath in anticipation. The man narrowed his eyes slightly before pulling back calmly with a slight nod of his head. "Yeah, he was here."

She exhaled her breath like she had been holding it for an eternity, truly relieved upon that information.

"He left like an hour ago, I think." He looked at his wristwatch and pursed his lips. "Maybe less than an hour ago, I'm not sure."

"Do you know where he went to?"

"No, I don't," he said, slightly furrowing his brows as his lips pulled a small smirk, as though that was the stupidest question to ask.

Chaeyoung had no time to think a lot about that reaction as she bowed and said her thanks quickly, rushing towards her car. Where could he go? Could it be that he was at Yoongi's workshop? Feeling like her brain couldn't work fast anymore, she dialed Hoseok's number again and waited anxiously.

"Yes, Chaeyoung."

"Have you found him yet?"

"No, he's not with Yoongi. I went to the workshop and he's not there."

Chaeyoung leaned her head against the headrest, heaving a sigh as she curled her fingers around the steering wheel. "Do you know any place he'd go?"

"I honestly don't know. Maybe...maybe he went home. You should go back and check on him if he's back home or not. It's already late and –"

"And I haven't found him," she breathed, all the bad things that could have happened to him playing on her mind.

Hoseok was silent before he responded. "I know," Hoseok said, his voice was gentle, comforting her slightly. "I'll keep on looking but for now, you should just head back home. I'll inform you if I found him. Yoongi is searching for him too. He's never done this before, and we're worried too. Go home safely, okay?"

Her grip tightened on her phone when Hoseok told her that this was the first time Jungkook had acted out like this. Again, she tried to tell herself that he'd be okay, nothing bad would happen to him but she couldn't. Slowly, she nodded as though Hoseok could see her through the phone, swallowing hard as she muttered a soft 'okay'.

Taking another deep breath, she revved the engine and sped away from the spot, hoping that he would be back safely in his home. Even then, as she was on her way home, her eyes couldn't stay focus as she let them wander from left to right, trying to see if Jungkook was anywhere around the area she was in.

It was at the bridge that she saw a figure so familiar that her eyes widened and she instantly looked for the nearest free space to park her car. When she went out of her car, she studied the man from far, his messy hair, his slightly crumpled shirt, the way he was walking and she narrowed her eyes a little more, and there was a voice in her that told her he was indeed Jeon Jungkook.