CXII

Springfield

 

“He’s not in his room.” Sungyeol pointed towards the stairs as he entered the living room.

“He’s not answering his phone either.” Hoya pulled his cell phone away from his ear and clicked end on the call. A call he had made over ten times to one specific person.

“What do we do Hyung?” Sungjong asked warily towards Sunggyu who was sitting on the couch with his hand intertwined together as he rested his elbows on his knees. His eyes were closed as his head was hung down low. He only wished what he thought had happened didn’t.

“The hunters are here!” Dongwoo yelled from the front door before opening it soon after. Sunggyu opened his eyes and leaned back in the couch, waiting for the outburst that would soon come from the foyer.

“What happened?” Zico yelled as soon as he entered. “A bit gloomier in here than it was yesterday.”

Dongwoo came into the living room, Zico, Kyung, and P.O. were following behind him. Zico had explained the night before that Taeil, U-kwon, and Jaehyo would be patrolling today in the morning. Luckily for the werewolves, it rained so much last night that part of the school was flooded. Thus, school was cancelled.

Kyung looked around the room curiously as soon as he entered. “Hey,” he directed towards Sunggyu as he continued to look around, “Where’s that grease ball?”

“Who?” Sungjong asked, his facial features contorting as he addressed the newly orange haired hunter. The reason for his expression was not only because of the way Kyung just spoke to Sunggyu but also that he seemingly already gave everyone nicknames. He just wanted a negative nickname for him to come out of Kyung’s mouth so that he’d have justification to go after him.

Kyung didn’t react to the way Sungjong responded and instead answered his question without hesitance as he continued to look around, underneath the coffee table this time, “The dude who's all smiles, not you smile boy but the other one. Where is he?”

Smile boy. Sungjong didn’t dislike it but for some reason he didn’t think it was a compliment. Still, he didn’t protest and instead crossed his arms against his chest as he took a seat on one of the lounge chairs across from the couch. Hoya stifled a laugh at the youngest wolf’s actions as he took a seat on the armrest of the chair.

“He means Nam Woohyun.” P.O. spoke up, reciting the name he had heard yesterday out of the male’s mouth himself. “He’s not here.” It wasn’t a question, but an observation. An observation that carried an underlying question.

Sunggyu didn’t see a reason to lie about such a thing. He was only afraid of the hunters confirming what he already knew. “You’re right, he’s not here. He isn’t answering his phone either.”

“We can’t find him no matter where we look.” Dongwoo informed dismally as he sat down next to Sunggyu. Another werewolf was gone. This had now reduced the pack to five. As seven they thrived but as five Sunggyu wasn’t as confident as usual. Pack moral was taking a hit as well. Zico had asked what was wrong earlier and he was right too. It was gloomier. It was not the same as usual. Everything was thrown out of whack simply with two people missing.

Sunggyu sat up slowly in his seat. He couldn’t believe himself at this moment. Why did he realize this only just now?

“I thought so.” P.O. grunted as he ran his hands through his hair.

“Oh,” Zico got a grin on his face as he recalled the odd conversation P.O. told him about yesterday, “is this what you told me about last night?”

“Last night?” Sungyeol asked curiously as he looked towards the three hunters. “What about last night?”

“He asked me about the Wolves’ crossing. Then, he said something about the water rising.” P.O. explained, not sure of his own words. Even now, he didn’t understand what Woohyun meant.

“Pretty sure you know what that means.” Zico plopped down next to Sunggyu, not bothering with the formalities anymore. He grinned from next to Sunggyu, to which Sunggyu responded by showing one small smile in return.

“He entered the Containment Zone through the Wolves’ Crossing didn’t he?” Hoya asked, stunned despite knowing of Woohyun’s usual behavior to act in the best interests of the pack, whether it be at the cost of his own safety or not.

Kyung lifted one finger into the air, “And the water level of the river rose last night. Meaning,” he twirled his finger once, an amused smile appearing on his face.

“Meaning we can’t enter the same way.” Sunggyu finished. He took in a deep breath and sighed heavily. Just as he thought. Woohyun had gone into the Containment Zone. Where else would he go after all? Sunggyu looked towards Sungjong, “Call Minah and tell her not to come over. We already know where Hyunjoo is.”

Sungjong was about to protest when Sunggyu gave him one of his looks. A look that told him to do it or he wouldn’t hear the end of it. Why did he have to be the one to get her number anyway? He mumbled complaints as he stood up from the couch and exited the living room to get his cellphone from his room. He made sure to glare at Kyung as he left. Kyung scoffed in response and sat down where Sungjong previously was, crossing his legs arrogantly, all the while eagerly awaiting the response from Sungjong once he returned.

“Hoya, go get B-Bomb.” Hoya got up from the armrest, looking down at Kyung who paid no mind to him and was completely occupied with imagining the look on Sungjong’s face. Hoya nodded to Sunggyu and went into the kitchen, exiting through the back door so he could go to B-Bomb who was most likely sitting on the wet ground, not caring about his muddy clothes, as he once more meditated in silence as per Sunggyu’s instruction.

Sunggyu stood up from the couch and all eyes left in the room followed his movements as he came to a stop at the fireplace, the same place he had been standing yesterday. Except back then, he hadn’t even considered the impact of his actions. “With two of our pack gone, it’s like you said,” he directed towards Zico who smiled in response as he lounged back comfortably onto the couch, “it’s different without them. Just as I’m sure it’s different without B-Bomb being with you.” The smile faded off of Zico’s face, as did the one on Kyung’s. P.O. took a slow seat down beside Zico on the couch.

Sunggyu was wrong. He would admit that. He shouldn’t have split them up. There were a pack. Together as seven just as his own was. With even one of them gone, it was different. A bad different. The kind of different that could have been avoided in their case.

The back door opened and soon, Hoya was walking back into the living room, a relatively clean B-Bomb arriving behind him. B-Bomb had apparently decided to do what he hadn’t done in a while, climb a tree and take a nap on one of the branches. It was better than sitting on the ground after all. B-Bomb noticed it immediately, the tension in the air.

Sunggyu glanced towards each of his own pack members. What he was going to say was for the good of everyone, “I’m not going to keep on being the wedge between your pack. It was originally Minhyuk’s choice to come to us but I want you to also think about it. To think about what it would be like to control your transformations. To not have to drink Wolfsbane. To join up with us for the long run. To be who you are. Werewolves.”

 

 

 

“Surprised?”

Woohyun’s question rang through the empty hallway. No one answered. You hadn’t because well, the question wasn’t for you.

“You’re surprised, aren’t you?”

It was for Myungsoo. The one who was walking next to Woohyun now, his lips firmly shut as the two lead the way side by side. To say that Woohyun’s appearance put Myungsoo in a foul mood was a gross understatement. As much as you yourself wanted to be happy about it, you couldn’t help but feel that growing Myungsoo-like irritation. Why? Because like Myungsoo you wanted more than getting out of here for no one else to come in. Woohyun all but trapped himself in here now.

He was safer on the outside. Now, here he was. Apparently, from what he told you, he had come here so easily because P.O. had told him where he saw the mayor drop you into the Containment Zone. Why had he heard this from P.O.? Because the hunters hand teamed up with the werewolves. A truce that was as fragile as glass and Woohyun jumping down here was not good for anybody at this point.

All of this meant one more thing. Something much harder to swallow.

The reason Woohyun had found you and Myungsoo so easily was not because he had been here for long or that he found a shortcut. Turns out, you and Myungsoo had gone in a complete circle without even realizing it. So now, the region around the three of you was the same hallway that led out of the room you had first woken up in. While the man in black was nowhere to be found, there was also no way out to be found.

The entrance the mayor threw you through was apparently a good ways up, closing off soon after Woohyun jumped through. Once more, this proved this place had a mind of its own.

Myungsoo continued to give Woohyun the silent treatment, thoroughly emphasizing his frustration. Woohyun’s smile slowly faded and instead his lips formed a frown, “Come on L. Don’t be like this.” He nudged Myungsoo’s shoulder with his own and Myungsoo stopped walking. “I was worried about you.”

You knew then that this was when Myungsoo would break his silence. You could practically hear his patience snapping in two. “Don’t even start with me.” He snarled and you could see his upper lip curling up under the dim light of the hallway. “I know exactly why you came and it wasn’t because you were worried about me.” Myungsoo turned to continue walking but Woohyun held him back, gripping onto his shoulder and turning him towards him once more.

“It’s not about-“

“When is it never about her with you?” Myungsoo interrupted, his voice echoing off of the concrete walls. You watched on a few feet away, startled by his use of such a loud, angry voice. You weren’t quite used to it after speaking with him in hushed tones for a few hours now. “You’re always acting before you think. Why don’t you try listening to Sunggyu for once instead of leaping in head first just because of some human.”

You had a moment of epiphany, your lips parting in realization. Myungsoo was talking about you. Talking about you as though you weren’t even there.

“And what am I supposed to do huh? When you’re here with her and I’m going crazy topside just thinking about it let alone having to talk about it over the coffee table.” Woohyun shot back, his calming tone disappearing, and fast. He stared into Myungsoo's intense eyes, his own becoming glazed over with a range of livid emotions.

“I’m going crazy just having to be down here. You want to be here instead so badly, fine. You’re here now aren’t you? You should be jumping for joy.” Myungsoo yelled back, stepping forward as though he was ready to exchange punches any second now.

This argument was because of you. Yet you couldn’t think of any way to stop it. The only real solution being you leaving. If you were the cause of the argument, to solve the situation you had to walk away. But this wasn’t “topside,” as Woohyun had put it. You had nowhere to go. With nowhere to go, and nothing to say, your head started to hurt. Though that was mostly due to the vibration of their yells in your eardrums.

“Really? This is how you react to me showing up here? Sure, I’m selfish. Sure, I didn’t come just because of you. I know you can take care of yourself but you’re not by yourself this time L.”

“If you guys had actually been watching her instead of letting her go about her own self-destructive ways then I would have been alone now wouldn’t I-”

“Myungsoo.”

He stopped before he could finish. He turned to you from his peripheral, as did Woohyun. You hadn’t called out to stop him and Woohyun from arguing because you still had no idea how to go about doing that. You called him out for another reason. A reason that was much more urgent than arguing was. A moment of complete silence went by as you waited. Waited for him to notice it as you had.

When he did, there was a blur in front of your eyes and you felt yourself being tugged forward immediately, almost tripping over yourself in the process. In an instant, the three of you were running down the hall. Woohyun was faster than you or Myungsoo. Not because he was naturally that way but because Myungsoo had one problem to deal with. You.

He had grabbed onto your hand and was dragging you behind him as he ran, causing him to have to go slower than usual. Of course, “slow” wasn’t in a werewolf’s vocabulary so your legs strained to keep up with his own. Woohyun turned to look back and within a second his head snapped back forward. For the first time, you heard Woohyun curse, a low mumble amongst the sound of your feet hitting the concrete beneath you.

What followed that was the feeling of something slipping through your fingers up to your palm. Woohyun had grabbed your hand, clearly not satisfied by the speed at which you were going after his look back at what awaited you three down the hallway. What awaited you three?

Well first, you had felt that feeling again earlier. The feeling of all the hairs on your neck standing up. Then, you heard soft taps against the concrete coming from behind you. The unmistakable sound of a person’s footsteps. This is what you called out for Myungsoo for, what you wanted him to hear.

And it was the reason he sprinted off down the hallway after promptly smacking Woohyun’s back, telling him to do the same. Judging from Woohyun’s rare choice of words just earlier, the person those footsteps belonged to was close. And Myungsoo wouldn’t run unless it was someone to run from.

Your best guess was the man in black.

Though confirming it would have to wait because you were currently being dragged this way and that further and further into the unknown by two supernatural werewolves.

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A/N:

Updating late. Once more. Why? Because I didn't really like one of the scenes I wrote and spent all of this morning trying to rewrite it. I did, and am now satisfied with myself. Though it took a long time. A very long time. But here it is now! And I am excited to present to you chapter 112 of Springfield!

There's the discovery of Woohyun's disappearance, Sunggyu's proposition, and last but not least Woohyun, Myungsoo, and Hyunjoo interaction (mostly Woohyun and Myungsoo though). So is everyone's questions answered as to how Woohyun got there? That doesn't exactly help things though does it? Still, Woohyun took the only chance he could get to go to Myungsoo and Hyunjoo. A chance that's gone now. What's going to happen next? 

 

 

 

Also, I love to read all of your reactions. To all my readers out there, I love you too!

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lilyemc
Happy Springfield's 2nd Anniversary!

Comments

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MayhemMinutes
#1
It’s been years, but this still hits different
exokexomkai
#2
Chapter 2: i just love the flow of the story
exokexomkai
#3
Chapter 1: came back to reread after 4 years. it feels like just yesterday i finishes it. im just so happy to be back on AFF.
cheonchoni
#4
Came back bcs I forgot to upvote hehe. Your stories are really special compared to others bcs of your writing style
cheonchoni
#5
Chapter 104: Girls are always more attracted to mysterious boys aren't they lol
cheonchoni
#6
Chapter 82: Please be friends and attack that mayor. I don't think I can handle more betrayel. What kind of mess did she get herself into *sigh*
cheonchoni
#7
Chapter 80: That's why they want that necklace...
cheonchoni
#8
Chapter 78: AWWWWW NOOO she'll end up hurting one side either way
cheshire08
#9
After how many years, I'm back here again. Missed your writing style and stories, author-nim ?
KimHyeJoo #10
Chapter 128: I love this so much omg :’)))