WARNING: This story will be a slow-development. It is by the author's will and abilities that the pace is set to reveal little yet much at the same time. If emotions are sparked by the end of a chapter, it will be considered as work well-done.

WHEN SUMMER ENDS

by Discordance

PART 1

Glass

9:00 AM

The numbers reflected on the surface of large charcoal eyes practically hidden under a fringe of black messy hair. The eyes blinked blearily at the screen before closing resignedly, face collapsing onto the pillow with a groan.

It was a typical 10 seconds before Chanwoo unwrapped himself from the confines of his toasty comforter and slid out of bed, slipping on the slippers left haphazardly underneath. He yawned and stretched, which caused the simple white t-shirt he wore to rise and show the barest hint of skin above the waistline of his shorts.

The room was messy, which he knew probably had made Yunhyeong-hyung extremely aghast. But seeing as how the elder’s bed was made and clean as usual, he had managed to slip out extra quiet without waking him up.

Chanwoo got up and headed into the hallway to the bathroom for his daily morning ritual. On the way, he peeked into each of the hyungs’ rooms. Jinhwan-hyung's bed was empty - not that unusual if he didn't set an alarm (on the days it was set, the eldest would sometimes over-sleep out of spite). Hanbin-hyung was cocooned in his blanket in a deep sleep. Bobby-hyung was surprisingly not in his room, as well as Junhoe. Donghyuk, from what he could hear, was singing and taking a shower in the other bathroom.

Looks like for once, most of his hyungs were up before him - but then again, he did also have a late night in the studio practicing. His hyungs liked to complain about him hogging the practice room, locked door and all, so he tries to do it whenever they don't need it at the time.

Toweling his hair as he walked to the kitchen after taking a quick shower, he strained his ears to hear the clatter of pans or the simmer of breakfast. He didn’t hear anything, but as soon as he entered the kitchen, he saw the eldest but shortest hyung rummaging through the contents of the refrigerator.

Yunhyeong-hyung would usually be one of the first ones up to make breakfast for all the members, so it was surprising that he was not yet cooking up a storm.

“Jinhwan-hyung, have you seen Yunhyeong-hyung?” he asked as he strode over to look through the cupboards for something to eat.

“Not since yesterday,” was the slightly muffled reply. His puppy-like features emerged from the fridge, holding a glass of orange juice and a plate of leftovers in his hands. He nudged the door closed with his knee.

“Groceries?” He decided that he didn’t feel like cooking, so he grabbed a bowl and a cereal box instead. “Hyung, could you get me the milk?”

“Aish, I’m already at the table!”

“Oh, really?”

Jinhwan-hyung placed his glass on the table and walked over to the fridge. He quickly grabbed the milk and set it in Chanwoo’s arms. “Here.”

“Thank you~” he murmured, opening a drawer with one hand to search for a spoon.

Donghyuk entered. His hair was damp like Chanwoo’s. “What? Yunhyeong-hyung’s not cooking, yet?”

“He’s not here,” Jinhwan answered, standing away from the microwave as his food warmed up.

“Really? Aw.” 

"Yes, 'really'." The eldest took out his meal and began grabbing for utensils. "Honestly, am I really that unreliable to get two of those in under a minute?"

"Well, you see - " 

"About that - "

Jinhwan-hyung mock-glared in their direction, making them burst into laughter. He sighed, but it lacked the obvious weight.

“Does anyone know where Junhoe and Bobby are at, then?” After a few minutes, Donghyuk made a layered sandwich (healthy, since he was on a diet, but which in turn converted everyone to mother hens, at different extents) and now they were all munching heartily into their food at the table.

“I wondered where they were too. They weren’t there when I got up,” Chanwoo said. “What time did you get up, Jinhwan-hyung?”

“Around 8. Yunhyeong wasn’t in bed, so I figured he went out to get some groceries - but he hasn’t come back yet. Junhoe and Bobby were here when I got up, though I think they left while I was taking a shower.” Jinhwan sipped his orange juice. “I don’t know where they could’ve gone off to.”

“Huh.”

After the meal, they did Rock-Paper-Scissors to figure out who would be washing the combined dishes. Jinhwan lost, so both the youngest and the former youngest fled to their rooms in unrestrained joy. 

It was a day off today, so the members could enjoy the small little vacation within the city and relax as much as they were able to. He couldn’t say the same for Hanbin-hyung because even though he was the middle child of the group, he was still their leader and he thought enough of work for all of them combined, these days. It was only the occasional moment or day off that he was finally able to be stress-free, even if for less than a day.

It was quite a rarity that they were able to have group meals of all eight members for any of the meals throughout the day. Before and after their debut, they would spend day and night at the practice studio perfecting their skills. Everyone had limits, so most of the time some of them would leave to eat while the others continued on until late noon. And now, they were even working so hard on preparing a whole new album for their eagerly waiting fans. It was driving all of them to the brink of exhaustion - he hopes they will be able to have a real vacation before their comeback. Everyone really needs it.

Chanwoo gave a cursory glance of his bed and decided to fold it for once before Yunhyeong-hyung got back.

After doing so, he proceeded to plop down on the cover, lying on his belly with long legs stretched out across the length of the comforter. He took out his phone and scrolled through it to find the first game that gave a daily reward every time he logged in.

Yunhyeong-hyung always said he played too many games, but he could tell he secretly enjoyed the sounds and music that permeated throughout the room – when it was clean and Yunhyeong-hyung was not in a rare bad mood, of course. It was a sign that he wasn’t all alone and that he doesn't have to worry too much about the maknae - since he was right within reach. His hyung could be quite sentimental sometimes, but not too often that Chanwoo would not be touched by his concern anymore, especially when he needs a particularly factual view on things.

He still remembered the first day that he watched WIN: Who Is Next on television. At the time, he was at home, watching TV while his mother was cooking his favorite home-made meal in the kitchen. It was purely by accident that he managed to come across the channel sponsored by M-net. Even more surprising was seeing a group of boys sitting in a training room that looked much like the YG training rooms he had watched BIGBANG practice in for video footages.

It had been the first episode. He later found out that the group of boys he first saw were called Team B, which included the first three Kim’s, Jinhwan, the eldest, Bobby, the rapper, Hanbin (B.I.) the leader and rapper, as well as the three vocals, Koo Junhoe, Song Yunhyeong, and Kim Donghyuk. They had to go against the other team, Team A, who were their elders in training.

He remembered he had watched every single episode from then on while it was broadcasted. His mother soon joined him on the couch a few episodes into the series, and they both shared their views on the teams and program.

They both agreed that Team A was by far the most skilled team in terms of singing – though they didn’t know about the rapping because no one rapped in the family. Team B, on the other hand, was the best concerning teamwork and dancing, although they could clearly see that a few of them were proficient enough when it came to their voice/rapping.

It was difficult to decide who would debut, but in the end, it was clear that Team A’s improved skills in performance, and their nurtured ability to compose, had been enough to make it clear that they were going to be the winner. That, and the fans’ votes, which had overtaken Team B’s votes for all rounds by just a small percentage. So, when the results came, he was not surprised to hear who won.

In all honesty, while he did admire Team A for their individuality and unique skills, he felt closer to Team B, not only because of their unfailing teamwork and unsatiable drive, he knew they were all around his age. Despite technically being their sunbae because of his childhood acting history, he admired them for taking that large step into training to become an idol, sacrificing their schooling and years with their family despite not knowing if they would make it or not (of course, this was the case for many other trainees and idols, but Team B was one of the few he actually followed). And the fact that even though some of them had been practicing for only about a year before having that much confidence and improvement was astounding

He saw their tears and witnessed their pain, and felt bad for them because it seemed that Team A would win in the end, despite all their hard work and brother-like bond.

And then they lost and that was it. They disappeared from the media world for a long time, scarred and hurting but within each other’s comfort.

However, it turns out that that program was the key element in persuaded him to pursue life as a singer. Yunhyeong-hyung, who had started straight from scratch and had previously wanted to become an actor like him, was one of the many proofs that Chanwoo had with whether or not he would have a chance to succeed in the idol career. Junhoe had wanted to be a dancer and Donghyuk had been a golden student in school. They all had wanted to pursue different things, but despite their lack of experience and skills, they were all accepted because they had the will and passion to sing.

Chanwoo wanted to be like that. He loved to sing, but he didn’t think that he was good enough to become an idol. He also had acting to occupy his time. But his career could only take up so much of his life, and he was left with wondering why he did not feel as satisfied. And then the program came and it revealed the path that he had previously dismissed because of uncertainty. He wanted to become an idol – a singer, and he was planning on taking that opportunity up before it was too late.

When auditions came, he signed up for YG-Entertainment. He answered the interview questions as thoughtfully and sincerely as possible. The audition tape was recorded and he fussed over the video to hear if his voice sounded shaky and horrible from nerves. Then he sent it, applications and all.

He received a letter of acceptance some weeks later. His family threw a get-together with relatives to celebrate his success. It was thoroughly embarrassing but at the same time he felt grateful. His mom’s homemade feast was a bonus.

In just a short amount of time, he found himself in the YG training rooms while being instructed by those assigned to teach him. He barely had any contact with other trainees, and he never once saw any sign of the trainees he admired from WIN. It was lonely, but he was still pursuing his dream, and he was fine with that.

Then he and another trainee, Jinhyeong, were summoned to the YG building and they were informed that they would be participating in a survival competition with Team B. It was the single most nerve-wracking moment in his life – from the journey there to meeting the famous trainees themselves (and the CEO for the first time).

He remembered their faces until even now. The last that was seen of them was their participation in the YG Family Tour in Japan. They were tired, vaguely unhappy and shocked (probably because they were dropped the bomb just before they arrived), and didn’t look as if they knew how they should react to them. So really, he was thankful beyond relief when Bobby-hyung and Yunhyeong-hyung started cracking jokes and lightening the atmosphere. At that moment, when one-by-one the other members' expressions slowly but surely melted into ones of slight curiosity and the corners of their lips started to silently curl upwards, he felt that the room had become a whole lot brighter. 

And everything after that...was a history he would never forget.

“WHAT’S FOR BREAKFAST?”

“Kim Jiwon, be quiet!”

“He was like this the whole time.”

Bobby-hyung and Junhoe were back. Chanwoo quickly finished the game he was on and got up to walk to the living room, leaving his phone on the bed since he didn't think it would take long to get back. He was very curious about where Bobby-hyung and Junhoe went. They don’t go out together as often as the others.

Junhoe had collapsed onto the sofa with his feet hanging off the edge of the arm. Bobby-hyung was obviously in the kitchen looking for food and probably bothering Jinhwan-hyung as usual. Junhoe looked up at Chanwoo’s entrance.

“Where did you go?” Chanwoo asked.

“Out,” was Junhoe’s smart reply.

“With Bobby-hyung?”

“He wanted to tag along and go to the store to buy something.”

Chanwoo could just imagine the occasional awkward silence as they walked down the sidewalk. Some of his amusement must have shown on his face because Junhoe rolled his eyes. But he didn't comment. Bobby-hyung must have been good company.

“What about Yunhyeong?” came Jinhwan-hyung’s voice.

“What about him?” Bobby-hyung replied.

“You didn’t see him anywhere?”

“Were we supposed to?”

The two older members were just standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counters as they discussed.

“He doesn’t usually take this long.”

“You know how Yunhyeong is, he's probably making sure that he gets the right ingredients. You know, the best ones.”

“I guess. He just doesn't usually stay out this long when he knows everyone is waking up.”

“Hyung, don’t worry! It’s only morning. He’ll turn up later when he wants to.” No teasing this time. Was Bobby-hyung worried, too?

Jinhwan-hyung left to change his clothes for the day, saying that he was going out for a walk. Chanwoo was sitting by Junhoe’s head on the seat of the sofa. The slightly older member had thrown an arm over his face and was breathing deeply. Bobby-hyung appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, a contemplative look on his face. He looked straight at Chanwoo and asked, “Did you see if Yunhyeong was in bed last night?”

He blinked in surprise. Thinking back and saying hesitantly, “His...bed was made. But I can’t remember if he was sleeping when I came...Yunhyeong-hyung wakes up if I turn on the lights and he's been sleeping quietly recently.” He searched his hyung's face, seeing an indecipherable look cross over his features. "Why? What's wrong, Bobby-hyung?"

But he didn't answer. He just nodded quite jerkily and made his way towards the bedroom with slightly rushed steps. Chanwoo watched him go apprehensively. He turned to Junhoe, listened, and asked, “Where’s the manager?” He didn’t get an answer. “Where’s Yunhyuk-hyung, Junhoe? Do you know?”

“Why are you asking me that?” Junhoe groused, but he lifted his arm from his face to peer at Chanwoo. “He said he had an emergency back at home, so he left yesterday. Can’t believe you didn’t bother to notice.”

“None of us know where Yunhyeong-hyung is. Do you have your phone? Can you try calling him?” Junhoe eyed him in silence before he got up to lean against the back of the sofa properly. Chanwoo scooted in closer when he brought out his phone, though he had to look away for a few seconds when Junhoe paused in doing his password. He scrolled down his contacts and tapped the elder’s name. The phone was put on speaker so they could clearly hear the ringer.

Riiiing.

Riiiing.

Riiiing.

Riii –

They both leaned forward in surprise.

“The number – “

Junhoe ended it in frustration and pressed call again. On the fourth ring, the same telephone machine came up. Aggravatedly, he continued the same process. When he ended the call at the mechanical voice and was about to repeat, Chanwoo stopped him by pushing his arm. “Hyung’s phone is off. There’s no point in calling again.”

“Who was he with?” Junhoe said. “Where was he last night?”

“We were all at the practice rooms,” Chanwoo said, confused.

“I saw him leave. Where did he go?”

“He left?” Chanwoo stared at him. “Junhoe, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Why would I say anything?” Junhoe glared at him, anxiety making him snappy. “Point is, I saw him leave last night before everyone else. He was on the phone.”

“Why didn’t you—?” Chanwoo stopped when he realized there was no point on dwelling on it. He stood up. “We should tell this to Bobby-hyung.”

“You’re talking a lot all of a sudden.”

“Yunhyeong-hyung is missing, Junhoe. He never stays out without telling us first.”

“What if he just went to his family’s house? They don't live that far from here.”

“Without telling us?” Not waiting for Junhoe, he went into the hallway. By the time he was at the stairs, he could hear Junhoe’s footsteps following after him.

Bobby-hyung was on his cell-phone when they got to his bedroom. He was holding it to his ear and he seemed serious to the point of being intense. When they came in, he put down the phone but didn’t look at them. “Yunhyuk-hyung said that he didn’t say anything. I called Yunhyeong’s mom and dad, but they weren’t answering.”

Even though they were not the closest trio out of all the members, they instantly understood the atmosphere inside the room. Junhoe gestured for Chanwoo to close the door. They all remained standing as Junhoe relayed the limited information he had on Yunhyeong-hyung’s whereabouts. Then, Bobby-hyung’s phone vibrated. He looked down at it and his face became a little less tense, but not by much. “It's his sister. Eunjin just texted me that she asked him to buy something important for their restaurant last night because they were having a rush hour in the restaurant. She knew that he would be at the company nearby the place she asked him to go to.” He showed them the screen. “This is the address. Do you recognize it?”

Junhoe peered at it. “Why would she want him to go there?”

Another text and Bobby read through it slowly, his lips pursing. “They needed a new cash register, she said. The other one was refusing to work and they were having trouble getting the money out. People were starting to get impatient and she couldn’t get a hold of any of us when he didn’t come.”

“Why is she texting anyway? Wouldn’t it be faster to just call?”

He took a moment to text and wait for a response. “She’s in the middle of an important meeting. They would kick her out if they saw her using the phone because they’re not very understanding.” He put the phone away in his pocket and grabbed one of the jackets that hung from the bedpost. “Let’s go.”

“What?” Chanwoo and Junhoe stumbled after him as he opened the door and stalked out.

“Wait, hyung, are we going to tell the others?”

“Good morning!” Bobby-hyung greeted warmly. He looked completely at ease, if one didn't notice his tense shoulders.

A man stood behind the counter and looked up at the greeting. Chanwoo thought he looked unhappy, but when he greeted in a vaguely welcomingly way, he realized that the man must have a natural poker-face. “How can I help you?” He put away the book he was reading.

The shop itself was medium-sized but noticeably high in quality and relatively cheap in price. It was no wonder that Eunjin requested the place. There were various mechanical bits and objects laid on shelves, including the cash registers at the back. Everything was polished and cleaned. Chanwoo had never been in such a store before.

“We’re looking for a friend. We were told that he came here last night.”

Last night?" the shopkeeper's eyebrows folded. "I don’t get a lot of customers in the evening...what did he look like?” Eagerly, they rattled off what they could remember of Yunhyeong-hyung's appearance the night before.

“And you say he was around your age?” Bobby-hyung nodded. "My memory is not exactly reliable, but uh...I believe that someone did come very late in the evening. Past midnight, probably. You said he had bangs, too?"

Chanwoo immediately looked away from eying a shiny doorknob to stare at the shopkeeper. “Yeah,” Junhoe responded quickly. “Right here – here’s a picture.” He found a photo in his phone and showed it.

The man frowned. “Yes, that’s him."

“Do you happen to know where he went?”

“I can tell you that he bought one of my models at a good price,” he waved a hand in the general direction of the cash registers. “But I can’t tell you where he went afterwards. Since we don’t do deliveries, I assume that he walked with the package or hitched a ride on a bus or cab. He was headed in the direction of the main road when he left.”

“He didn’t say anything? Not even a little bit?” Bobby-hyung asked.

“He was a polite kid, but he was in a hurry. Saying he wanted to get back to something as soon as possible. Apologized a lot, too.” Yeah, that was definitely Yunhyeong-hyung.

“Thank you. Thank you! We’re sorry for barging in like this.” Bobby-hyung bowed several times and headed out, Chanwoo and Junhoe following his example.

Outside, they stood in place and looked around. “So he went here, but Eunjin said that he didn’t come to the restaurant." Under the slow burn of anxiety, Chanwoo couldn’t help but find comfort knowing that they knew more than they had before.

Jinhwan exited the kitchen, scrolling through his phone while gulping through a bottle of water. The living was empty for once so he dropped down on the couch with a sigh of content. He took another swig of water, this time glancing thoughtfully at the black screen of the TV across the room. The eldest leaned forward for a few moments and then reached for the remote control on the table in front of him. A ‘ping’ made him check back at his phone to reply before he pressed the power button -

Only to yelp loudly (not that he would admit it later) at the large boom of explosion. As he fumbled to turn down the volume, Donghyuk plopped down next to him, holding his ears with a wince. “Bobby,” Jinhwan groused

“What is with him and action movies?” Donghyuk asked, uncovering his ears finally.

“He should at least turn it down so that the neighbors wouldn't hear.” Jinhwan gave the controller to the former youngest. They watched for a few moments as Donghyuk surfed through the channels, trying to find one that would keep their attention.

“Oh, how about this, hyung?”

Jinhwan stared at it with a blank face.

“That’s a no...This?”

“I already watched that last week.”

“Aww.”

Jinhwan took the remote that Donghyuk later offered up in resignation and began to continue searching for channels to watch. It took only a short amount of time before he finally reached one that seemed at least slightly interesting.

“Really, hyung? The news?” Donghyuk groaned and laughed at the same time.

“It’s good to keep updated on what’s happening outside,” he defended. “And look, see, there was an incident nearby. It's a great way to know where to stay away from traffic.”

“Or you could use common sense, hyung. There are always people crowding everywhere and I’m sure we could see the police lights miles away.” 

Jinhwan played up his offended look, which did nothing but make the younger laugh. After a few more jabs and teasing, Jinhwan got up to get another glass of water while Donghyuk remained on the sofa with a look on his face that suggested he was still interested despite his complaints

“…That’s really near here…”

“Where did he go? Why would he leave without telling us where he went?”

Junhoe was frowning. "So, where do we go next?

“How am I supposed to know?” Bobby-hyung sank to the concrete ground and squatted dejectedly. He then placed his elbows on his knees and put his chin on one up-turned palm, staring at the park across the street.

“Donghyuk, do you want anything from the fridge?” Jinhwan asked. He opened the refrigerator to look at its contents, holding his glass in his hands. He hoped Yunhyeong would come back soon with more groceries, because it seemed that they were running out of food.

He lifted his head when he realized that Donghyuk didn’t answer. “Donghyuk, I said do you want anything from the fridge?”

“Let’s just go home, I’m sure he’ll turn up later.”

“It’s obvious you’re still worried. We should just keep looking.”

​"How about Chanwoo - you take that side, and Junhoe will take that side. I'll go through the park."

​"But is that a good idea? We've been on TV, people may know us and wonder why we're looking around."

Jinhwan stepped back from the refrigerator, craning his neck to try to have a view of the living room. But from what he could tell, the former youngest was still on the same spot as before. “Donghyuk! Are you listening to me?”

“…H-hyung?”

“You know, what if he just forgot?”

“It’s possible.”

Jinhwan’s heart almost stopped at the tremble of the younger’s quiet voice. He slammed the door shut and rushed out of the kitchen. “What? What is it?” Donghyuk’s face was pale as a blank sheet and his hand was shaking as he slowly pointed at the TV.

“I received a text from Eunjin, again!” Bobby shot up, startling the youngest members of iKON. He opened his message box with an eager smile...which soon faded at an alarming rate. ‘Watch the news quick.’ he read aloud. “What does she mean by that?”

Junhoe looked through the window of the shop they just exited and his eyes widened. Without saying a word, he threw open the door and dashed inside. After a moment of confused disbelief, they followed.

They ignored the shop-owner who welcomed them again with a confused look on his face. They only had eyes for Junhoe’s frozen form...and then the TV they realized they hadn’t noticed was on the wall.

Hanbin's eyes shot open at the sound of glass shattering. The silence that followed was deadening and he didn't move, but the foreboding feeling that pressed down on him caused him to slowly rise from the bed, the sun rays filtering through the gaps of the curtain nearly blinding him with its intensity.

"...Guys?"

“—family members were contacted immediately—" 

"—no word yet from the company—"

“—fans are in turmoil after the video went viral, flooding social media with their grief and outrage.”

“—evidence of shooting—”

“—the passenger was identified to be 23-year-old Song Yunhyeong. A vocalist of Hip-Hop group iKON under one of the biggest music companies in Korea, YG Entertainment—”