Wonho and I; we are best friends, or at least we used to be. In fact, we had been friends for as long as I could remember and if I was correct, it had probably been more than 7 solid years. Coming from the same orphanage did play its part in the origins of our friendship; he came in at the age of 10, when his parents had passed on in a tragic accident and he was the only survivor. His family members remained uncontactable and to this day, he continues to assume that his grandparents despise him for taking away their beloved son.

As for me, I came in at the age of 15, after being discovered that I had come from an abusive environment. My mother ran away from home when I was 10, and it soon took a toll on my father, who vented his anger on me at every opportunity. When I took the courage to run from home, I fell unconscious right in front of the administrator’s eyes and was found with two broken ribs, a broken left arm and a countless number of bruises and scars.

Eventually, my father was taken away by the long arm of the law, and was to be in prison for as long as I could remember. It was not a life sentence, but it might as well have been, considering his age and the years of sentence that he would have to serve. Sure, it was difficult accepting the fact that I no longer belonged to a happy and loving family, but I seemed to find home in the orphanage straight away with Wonho’s company.

We had been sent to the same junior high school and eventually found that we had similar interests, especially in the Art scene. He was a talented artist of sorts with his deft fingers holding onto brushes of various sizes and thicknesses. With gentle and delicate , he was always able to create masterpiece after masterpiece and ace every assignment and examination without a sweat. Furthermore, he was also a skilled musician in piano and he had a melodious voice to match his musical talent. It was pretty obvious that he was blessed with good genetics too and had been raised well by his parents while they were still alive. All in all, he was the perfect boy for every girl and the subject of envy for every guy.

I was a little less on the popular side, simply because I preferred to keep a low profile. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done. For my part, I was pretty much known as the part-time barista who took up a job at Angelinus Coffee, as well as the “Photography King” in my Visual Arts major. It came to me as a natural interest as I took frequent walks in the city and began to notice the little things around me. All I had was a smartphone and a DSLR given to me on my 17th birthday and all I did was take photograph after photograph of whatever I found to be “aesthetically pleasing”. To my surprise, it became the origin of my “popularity” as I got calls and offers from various companies and eventually got noticed by Korea National University Of The Arts.

That was how Wonho and I eventually got our spot in the prestigious art institute, way before we sat for our college entrance examinations. We were not affluent, and neither did our parents have well-known companies and highly regarded positions, but we had, what they called, true talent and the principal always reminded us time and time again that they were blessed to have students like us.

I guess you can say that for simple students like us, life did not seem so difficult, until Wonho’s life went out of control in a downward spiral.

Over time, I found that he had hung out with the wrong crowd and was constantly getting into trouble. Whenever he came home in the wee hours of the morning, it was never a surprise to see his body littered with fresh, purple bruises or bleeding, angry red cuts. As a friend and roommate, I was always there to tend to his health, nagging at him time and time again to get his life together. At that time, we were in different high schools and we were thrown into that cruel world which fueled us with immense stress, late nights and tight deadlines.

It was definitely difficult to adjust but I had made the right friends and very close ones, in fact. We studied together, hung out together and never hesitated to help one another in times of need. For some reason, they were seen as the “typical rich geniuses”, but never judge a book by its cover, and that was well proven when I made these friends in high school. I guess it helped that I was posted to one of the most elite schools, where students scored nothing less than a GPA of 3.7 out of 4, so troublemakers were hard to find and the environment was conducive for living and learning.

Unfortunately, Wonho had it entirely different. Similarly, he was posted to one of the most famous (or infamous) high schools which brought in people of all different walks of life. There were the smart alecks, normal students, struggling students and of course, the troublemakers and he just had to meet the latter. Until now, he refused to tell me the story behind him joining the gang, but you can say that he was a juvenile delinquent. He picked up horrible habits of smoking and drinking at the tender age of 17, and began to draw tattoo after tattoo on his body. They were pretty to look at, sadly, but he had soon become more than just the typical lackey in the group.

He got “promoted” and was soon involved in countless unjust acts; stealing, bullying and fighting, just to name a few. Strangely, he never forgot my birthday and always showed up with fancy gifts that I could never afford, even with my freelance photography offers. However, I was never one to question because of Wonho’s temperamental temper. Yes, he was sweet, charming and kind, but push the wrong buttons, and it could make one regret their entire existence. Luckily (or unluckily), his “friends” had been kind enough not to let him consume any form of harmful substances, or at least for now.

His grades went from bad to worse and his attendance had slipped drastically; from a 100-percent (or close enough) to a bare 30-percent or less. Whenever I was asked of his whereabouts, I never had any clue. He was always out of the house before I woke up for school and came home late into the night, even in the wee hours of the morning. Only the Almighty knows why but I constantly found myself doing my best to wait for him until he came home.

My mind always told me that I was his best friend, and the only person that he could trust to be by his side no matter what. Hence, it came with countless espresso shots of caffeine, hours of watching the stars go by at the little “front yard” of our shared apartment. When he finally showed up at the gate, he never spared a glance. He gave a curt nod to acknowledge my presence, kicked off his shoes at the front door and stepped into the house as if nothing “interesting” had happened throughout the day. No words were exchanged between the both of us and the atmosphere of our cosy residence grew colder and colder as the days went by.

Eventually, I found myself waiting up in vain and was always waking up in the least conducive of places. Maybe it was due to my positivity and hope that I naturally had for Wonho, so I waited for him to return, only to realise that he was uncontactable (like he always was) and it was as if his entire being had disappeared from the face of the earth. “Worry” was an understatement at that point because he could either be “having fun with his friends” as per normal, or worse, dead.

There were days when I had skipped school out of worry, waiting tirelessly for him at the porch and constantly looking out whenever I heard or saw vehicles and students come by the tiny alleyway. I took walks along the places that he would usually spend his time when we were orphans, and even made my way to his school just to see if he happened to be present. According to his teachers, the last time they had seen him was 2 weeks ago, which meant that he had only gone “missing” recently and was nowhere to be found.

Worry soon turned into anxiety as his line was now dead, with the automated voice telling me that his number was no longer in use. This struck alarm bells in my mind and I wasted no time in rushing to the nearest neighbourhood police station. Running as fast as my legs could carry me, I would probably have fallen, or worst still, got knocked down by a vehicle at the busy pedestrian crossings, but I refused to give in to my fatigue and told myself that every second could mean that Wonho was gradually getting into more danger.

I burst through the doors of the police station when I reached it and was only met with a policeman who gave me a questioning gaze. Nevertheless, he could sense that something was wrong and escorted me to take a seat at his desk.

“Please wait a moment sir. I’ll get you a drink and some food to eat.” He said in a soft, but gentle and soothing voice, before taking his leave.

He had left the station for a while, but soon returned with an iced chocolate frappe and a raspberry muffin that was still warm in my hands, bringing me to an instant calm when I touched it.

“Sir, you showed up at this dismal police station in quite a disarray. May I have your name and the reason for your display on this quiet and peaceful afternoon?”

I was a little taken aback at his tone of his voice, but he only let out a slight laugh at my reaction and shook his head. His slender fingers were now on the keyboard and was probably ready to type whatever I needed to tell him.

“My name is Yoo Kihyun,” I said calmly, to my very surprise because my heart was probably palpitating rapidly against my chest, “And I come from Seoul Arts High School. Someone has gone missing, officer. It’s been 4 days and he has not shown up once. I mean, he shows up in the wee hours of the morning at most, but he has not come home in a long time. His phone number has been deactivated and it’s no longer in use. I went to his school yesterday and his teachers said that they had not seen him either----”

“Calm down, Mr Yoo. You are in an obvious state of panic and I can only type so fast. At the speed you’re babbling, I might miss all the important details with regards to this person.”

The officer spoke and I stopped immediately, attempting to catch my breath as I realised that I had probably not taken a single breath since I gave him an entire chunk of information with regards to Wonho’s “MIA” status.

“So this person has been missing for 4 days and his number is no longer in use, is that correct, Mr Yoo?”

I nodded frantically and the officer only motioned for me to have some drink to ease my nerves before proceeding with the interview.

“Who is this person that has gone missing? Who is he to you?”

“He is my best friend, sir. We come from the Seoul Children’s home and he has been my friend for the past 7 years. We live together in a small shared rooftop apartment, just a stone’s throw away from here.”

“I see…. What are his particulars?”

“His name is Shin Hoseok, but he’s better known as Shin Wonho. He’s the same age as I and comes from Hanlim Arts High School. In his first year, he had met some delinquent juveniles and began to participate in their dirty work and I assume that it is because of them which accounts for his absence.”

At the thought of Wonho wasting his life away, I could feel an ache in my chest. Whenever I saw him with those hollowed cheeks, dark eye bags or fresh injuries, tears were also threatening to cascade down my cheeks. There were no words to express what I felt; anger? Sadness? Guilt? Sympathy?

I did not know, it just pained me to see him in such a state. Unfortunately, all of my attempts to help were either faced with reciprocated with prolonged absence, deaf ears or just a fuming and violent teenager. There were times  , I swore, that he had wanted to lay a fist on me and be done with me, but he always held back with a huff, pushing past me and locking himself up in the bathroom.

Sometimes, he could be there for hours, and he comes out looking like death. He meets my gaze once, but looks away quickly and puts on a jacket again to leave. Trust me when I said that I tried to stop him multiple times, but he just shook me off and hurried off on his way. Or he would give me a threatening glare and sneer with a biting tone,

“Let go of me. Just go away and get out of my sight. I don’t need you anyway.”

Those words were probably equivalent to a stab in the heart at that point in time and the tears just fell, like a dam that had been let loose. The jar of emotions that I had been storing deep within my heart broke into tiny smithereens and it was impossible to repair.

A tear fell, followed by another and they eventually flowed mercilessly. I remember the look in Wonho’s eyes when he saw me cry. Guilt was evident in that gaze of his and one could easily tell that he was tempted to go back into the house and comfort his crying friend who never cried for himself. He clenched his fist, and unclenched them in a repeated manner, as if he was contemplating the possible options that he could take at this moment.

He could turn his back on his “friends”, or he could turn his back on his one true friend who has stuck with him through thick and thin; through tragedies and triumphs. Sadly, he chose the “path of no return” and went on his way. Without sparing another glance, he walked off faster than he ever did, brisk walking down the stairs. The footsteps grew softer as he made his way further from the apartment and it was left with pin-drop silence, excluding the hiccups from my emotions.

On the contrary, I did not find myself to hate him for what he had done. In fact, I just could not. Most would probably punch the living daylights out of him, or worse, cut off all ties with him; move out, start a new life and possibly succeed.

But I knew better.

If there was no one here waiting for him, who was going to tend to his wounds? Who was going to provide the shoulder to cry on? Who was going to fix him? And the answer was nobody, but me. No, it was not an obligation to be with him; it just felt right to be with him.

That was the last day I saw him and that memory would probably be etched in my mind for a long time. Even if we were to repair the friendship that now hangs by a thread, I knew that the incident would be difficult to forget.

“Mr Yoo? Mr Yoo??”

“Y-yes sir? S-sorry, I just got lost in my own thoughts.” I replied with a grimace, but truth be told, tears were threatening to fall once more at the thought.

“I’ve submitted the report to my head of department. According to him, he will be right on his way together with an investigating officer. Please do not worry, your friend will be okay. Have a little faith, yeah?”

He said that with a smile and placed his hands on my shoulder, giving them an encouraging squeeze.

“He will be okay right? If he is found, will anything happen to him?”

The officer sighed and looked at me with a neutral expression and said, “That, I cannot tell you. It all depends on what your friend has been up to while he was gone. However, we will try to seek help for him if anything goes wrong. I can promise you that.”

Once again, he flashed an assuring smile and handed me what looked like a name card.

“That is my namecard. If you need me, I’ll be a call away. You can take me as a ‘hyung’. And my name is Donghae from Mokpo. Please do not call me Officer Lee. I’m too young to be called that.  Just call me ‘Donghae-hyung’ and we will get along just fine.”

I thanked him for his kind gesture and he only motioned me to take a seat in the comfortable, green sofas that lined the entrance, taking my drink and muffin with him.

“Thank you… Donghae-hyung. For all your help.” I said in a grateful tone.

“Of course. That is the reason why I became a police officer and I intend to fulfill that duty to the best of my ability.”

[Author's Note] 

Hi readers! I am back with another chapter of this fanfiction and wuhu to longer chapters that are more in depth? ^^; I've been enjoying every single moment of writing this story and I hope that you guys have been enjoying the direction of the story, or have taken interest in the plot as a start :D Nevertheless, I hope you will enjoy reading this chapter :) Furthermore, with regards to my frequency of updates, there will be no fixed timing and I will just be updating when I can, or when I've proofread the section of the document that I wish to post :) If you enjoyed this story and wish to get frequent updates from AFF, hit the "Subscribe" button and you'll always be notified when I've posted a new chapter  ^^ Also, do feel free to leave a comment in the comment box below and I'll get back to you guys as soon as I have read your comments :) In all honesty, your support would mean a lot to me and it will definitely encourage me to keep my stories going :) I have never finished a chaptered story ever, so I hope for this to be the first ever to be finished on a good and positive note, yeah? :) 

And there's more good news folks! This story is also available on AO3 (archiveofourown.org)! However, my name would be different and it is nattycookies09 instead! :) This would appeal to those who have been using AO3 more so do head over and give it your support if you prefer that particular website too! :) This is the link to my story: http://archiveofourown.org/works/8772328/chapters/20108578

Once again, thank you for reading and I hope to see you guys again soon! :) Bye for now ~ ^^

- chenyoo_sunshine99