“Seungwan’s parents filed a police report,” Hyejin told Jongdae at the study session in school that night.

She watched as his face fell almost immediately. He gave her an awry smile. “At least the police will know what to do, right?”

She could only nod. “Where’s Junmyeon? He usually isn’t this late.”

As if he heard her, Junmyeon barged into the classroom, effectively disrupting the quiet atmosphere. He got a few dirty looks from his classmates which sparked some chatter but he paid them no mind as he joined his friends at their table.

“I’m already letting you all have group discussions,” the teacher warned, trying to quiet down the class. “If you make any more noise, you’ll have to do work individually.”

Automatically, everyone picked up their pens and faced the books laid in front of them. Hyejin was itching to tell Junmyeon that the police were involved in the case now, but the teacher was keeping a close eye on them.

“Junmyeon,” she whispered. “Seungwan’s parents filed a police report. Her mum let me know in the evening just now.”

He didn’t look surprised at the news. Instead, he actually looked a bit disgruntled, though she knew she wasn’t the one who had that effect on him. He only grunted in response, glancing at their teacher for a moment.

The teacher wasn’t even looking at them anymore. Hyejin prodded, “What happened?”

“Nothing.” he grunted.

“C’mon, you can tell me,” she said gently. “I mean, that’s why we’re together, right? C-couples are supposed to share their feelings and stuff.”

“I share my feelings with you,” he replied, having the decency to look offended. “What do you mean?”

She rolled her eyes. “I mean, you’re so closed off from me. There’s only so much I can take, you know? In all honesty, we don’t even act like a couple other than the fact that you hold my hand sometimes.”

He frowned, protesting weakly. “We act like a couple!”

“Oh yeah?” she challenged. “Then why can’t you even tell me why you’re upset? I can tell that something’s wrong; I’m not blind. And if you can’t talk to me, then this all feels terribly one-sided.”

At that, he looked even more dismayed. He let out a deep breath, before finally conceding. “I didn’t know you felt this way. I’m sorry.”

“So will you tell me?”

“I, um, kind of had a run-in with Chanyeol before coming here.”

Her eyes widened in realisation. “Oh. Um, I hope everything’s fine.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he waved her off, flipping to the next page of his book. “You don’t have to.”

“What if I want to?”

“Guys,” Jongdae interrupted, a knowing smile playing on his lips. “Did you forget I was still here? I can hear everything, you know.”

Hyejin turned red while Junmyeon coughed awkwardly. She didn’t think they were that loud, but Jongdae seemed to have superb hearing. Now focusing for real, they tried their best to study even with the looming despair of Seungwan’s disappearance.

-

“Ah, the air is so cool outside!”

Students slowly emerged from the school building as the night went on, with some walking back home while some waited for their parents. The three of them had decided to walk home, but having their homes on different sides of the place made it difficult for them to coordinate.

“It’s alright, I can walk home by myself,” Hyejin told the boys, not wanting to bother them any further. “I usually do.”

“No,” Junmyeon immediately shook his head. “It’s too dangerous.”

“But you live in the opposite direction! And by the time you reach home, it’ll be almost midnight.”

“I don’t care. It’s not safe for a girl like you! You don’t know what’s lurking on the streets. You wanted me to be a better boyfriend, right? Let me!”

She groaned. “That’s not what I meant at all! And what do you mean, ‘girl like me’? Are you seriously insulting me right now?”

“Um, guys,” Jongdae cut in. “I’m still here.”

“So you agree that she shouldn’t walk home alone, right?”

“Of course, Hyejin shouldn’t walk home alone,” he agreed at once, before his tone turned apologetic. “But, looks like I can’t follow you guys today. I have to get my brother from his dance class and it’s not in the way to either of your houses. My mum asked me to walk home with him from there.”

“Aww, isn’t that tiring though?” she sympathised, clapping him on the back. “Wait! Doesn’t this mean that Junmyeon will be walking home alone? Ha, looks like you can’t accompany me home anymore.”

He groaned, when suddenly Sehun’s loud remark made them stop in their tracks. “Hehe, look at the lovers’ squabble!”

The three of them turned to face the direction of his voice which was a little further out of the school compound, so in sync that it resembled a cartoon, only to get a huge shock.

Sehun was sitting next to Chanyeol, undeniably close, and both of them had wide smiles on their faces. Chanyeol had an arm hung over Sehun’s back. Hyejin had to remind herself to close .

“You two know each other?” Jongdae was the first to speak up, effectively breaking out of his shock.

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