Upside down.

That was the state Hyukjae swore he’d turn the townhouse into if he didn’t find Donghae fast.

Where the hell?

What the hell?

Where could he have possibly gone on foot?

Hyukjae thought in apprehension as he imaged the possibilities that could have happened to the little brunette without him even knowing.

Just a few seconds ago, every door in the townhome had been barged opened, every closet raided and every bathroom assaulted with the prime objective of finding out where in the world was Donghae.

Worry was starting to plague itself into Hyukjae’s mind as the blonde nearly hyperventilated at the latest concoction of imagery his brain seemed to be playing on him.

Vivid snapshots of Donghae being stolen, hurt, tortured, stuffed in the back of a truck to die; knocked off with excessive doses of chloroform on a rag that one sick person had thought would suffice his disgusting needs.

Jesus please, Hyukjae began to pray as he thought more of Donghae; crying, alone by himself in the dank of a basement, blood dripping from the corners of his soft and beautiful mouth with only seconds more to live.

Increased rapidness seemed to follow Hyukjae’s next foresight as he visualized Donghae being touched in places that were unmentionable, screaming and weeping for his dear life as waves of pain crashed onto him.

That last vision hit Hyukjae.

Hard.

Almost hard enough to have the blonde curled up on the ground, wailing for his only one’s dear life.

Dashing around the townhome, Hyukjae forced his mind to let go of such imagery and focus on the situation at hand. The blonde encircled the home in heavy steps, thinking of all the possible scenarios as well as places Donghae could have gone away from the home.

Where could Donghae be? Hyukjae thought in a mad haze, snatching his cellphone from the counter and dialing his best friend’s number on automatic speed dial.

Rings rebounded on the other end of the line as Hyukjae waited impatiently, shoving himself out of the front door and checking both the back and front yards- no sign of Hae anywhere.

Hyukjae ran down one end of the road to the next, the street that he ran around in just yesterday with Donghae by his side, laughing and smiling at the world.

The world only made whole by him.

“Hyukjae!” Yesung yawned from the other end of the line, apparently lethargic as Hyukjae could almost hear the older man rubbing his eye, exhausted. “What’s wrong with you?! It’s barely 7! You better have a good excuse for this you God-awful-“

“Donghae’s missing!” Hyukjae nearly wept into the other line, heart getting heavier by each fraction of a millisecond as he lost more and more hope of ever finding Donghae.

It had been hours since the blonde had last seen the younger.

Anything could have happened by then.

Abduction, disaster, hit-and-run incident.

Here they go again, the images.

Lord the images.

They’re alarming and horrendous.

The worst possible outcomes of this imminent emergency.

“He’s missing Sungie and all I know is that he’s gone!” Hyukjae tried to keep his composure, struggling with even breathing a constant pattern anymore, holding back the tears that were getting ready to downpour.

“Stay there Hyukjae, I’ll come get you. It’s okay. Everything will be fine, Donghae’s strong.”

With that, Jongwoon hung up the phone.

Hurry please, Hyukjae pleaded within himself.

◊

“We have to go to Milk City first, that’s where you used to stop everyday after work before you met Donghae.” Jongwoon’s deductive reasoning skills flared as he thought of possible routes to take with his car, almost veering the two of them off the side of the road twice in the past five minutes.

By now, Hyukjae looked like a wreck.

Exhausted.

The rising sun barely even inching its rays down onto the Earth as a new day began.

A new day that could possibly mark the days in which Donghae would no longer be here.

Thinking back now, Hyukjae was devastated.

It was only now that he started to register how much Donghae had actually meant to him.

Every minute of not knowing where Donghae was or what had happened to the younger was initiating a never-ending cycle of worry and hurt that swarmed Hyukjae’s mind.

The blonde didn’t know how to relax, and this real-life crazy taxi he was riding in with Jongwoon as the driver was doing absolutely nothing in ebbing his fears.

They only seemed to magnify them.

“I’ve already called law enforcement tech and told them to monitor every CCTV that comes across the only major intersection leaving the complexes, as well as all the bus terminal cameras that have been seen leaving Busan from 12 this morning up until now.” Jongwoon nearly swerved the car into a ditch, half-awake and running only on meager amounts of brewed coffee before leaving his home.

“The recorded tapes from last night are currently being searched right now for any leads as to what might or could have happened to Donghae.” the black-haired male deviated from his path of travel as the GPS system they were relying on uttered delayed directions.

“As for us,” Jongwoon grunted before slamming the gas pedal, for dear life not missing this yellow light, “we search inner-city Busan and the general area of your townhome until we find any guides to see if it was just a simple running away incident-“

“Donghae would never run away!” Hyukjae screamed, fear overtaking him along with pain as he thought of Donghae ever being so despondent as to flee.

Donghae loved him right?

As much as Hyukjae loved Donghae, right?

Hae cares about me... Hyukjae thought …right?

“Don’t you dare scream at me Lee Hyukjae,” Jongwoon started, jaw clenched as his grip on the wheel grew vice, “I’m hauling and putting my job on the line for commanding orders to task-force members that aren’t in my division. Not to mention, I pretended to be a damn Chief Commissioner in order for them to even listen to me!”

Jongwoon nearly slammed the breaks, almost causing the car to go a full 180 down the asphalt, but catching himself just in time to weave the car over to the correct lane, straightening out last second.

“You know damn well what I told you in my office!” Jongwoon hollered, growing angrier with Hyukjae by the passing second. “Donghae is an at-risk young adult. Along with the various bruises and contusions I consulted you about, he’s also had markings of self-inflictions.”

“What does that-“ Hyukjae began but was cut off immediately.

“He’s capable of doing something like this, Hyuk.” Jongwoon simmered down, gaining control of the steering wheel again, pressing a palm to his forehead in agitation.

“He is more than capable, and you know it,” the black-haired male took a deep breath, releasing slowly; calming the irritable rage he exhibited only seconds before.

“Donghae could very well be on his death bed right now, he could be anywhere. I’m not trying to crush your hopes and dreams for your future husband Hyuk, I’m just speaking facts. Hae could have run away, and he also could have been abducted…I don’t know. But it’s better not to leave a single stone unturned while we’re doing this investigation, do you understand?”

Jongwoon ended his rant, hands firmly grasping the wheel. The next turn drew them right to the lot of Milk City Korea.

They circled the surrounding area, feeling nothing but grief as again, zero signs of Donghae turned up.

Jongwoon even personally got out of the car as Hyukjae waited, tears beginning to steam down his cheeks at the thought of never being able to find Donghae.

Why am I so stupid? Hyukjae began to contemplate.

I couldn’t have told him I loved him before he left.

The detective opened the door of the driver’s seat and plopped right back into his place, turning the ignition back on and pulling out of the lot.

“He’s not in there,” was all Jongwoon could muster before he looked over his side and found Hyukjae drowned in countless silent tears; a blank look on the blonde’s expression.

“Hyukjae…” Jongwoon trailed off solemnly, eyes proceeding back to the reflectors and lines of the intersection. “Hyuk…I’m really sorry, okay?”

The eldest spoke gently this time, blinking slowly, eyes beginning to form moisture themselves.

“Hyuk, I’m really sorry, alright? We’ll find him, I promise. There’s no way in this world I would ever let anything happen to the two of you. I love you two.” Jongwoon straightened out, eyeing Hyukjae through his peripheral vision as the blonde did nothing but silently sit down, albeit motionless.

Jongwoon searched his mind for the right thing to say, only coming across the memory of the night of the Hiroshima tribute that happened all those months before.

“Do you remember the night of the paper cranes, Hyuk?” Jongwoon began, reminiscing over that one night when he actually, truly saw how much Donghae had truly loved Hyukjae.

Although the radiance of the night was stuck in the blonde’s innermost thoughts forever, he couldn’t help but get teary-eyed again considering everything that’s happened since that day, along with this state of catastrophe they’ve somehow managed to get themselves into.

“Do you remember the paper cranes, the teaching Donghae, the cuteness of when he hugged you tighter than when he held me?” Jongwoon smiled, feeling nostalgic over the recollections of that day.

Hyukjae remembered it all.

How he feigned jealousy so Donghae would hold onto him more than he did Jongwoon, how he ordered moo goo gai pan from that place they always ordered from with their number on that cheap paper brochure, how he explained the significance of the relief mission to his Donghae.

His Donghae

Hyukae got it now.

Hyukjae knew.

Hyukjae knew what it was like to wake up in the morning with a person he had always known, Hyukjae knew what it was like to hold the hand of that one person he had dreamed of ever even getting the chance to meet, Hyukjae knew what it was like losing the most painful thing to forfeit.

Hyukjae knew the reason why the skies were never big enough to hold the heart of the one he loved the most.

Because Hyukjae was trying to scour the seas to search for the impossible treasure,

Yet he had already found it.

“I know you didn’t notice, because you were too busy fawning over Hae’s cuteness,” Jongwoon remembered, causing Hyukjae to snap out of his daze, “but I watched you two, as you were sleeping, you know. When you started drifting away, he kissed your cheek, Hyukjae.”

As far as Jongwoon was concerned, Hyukjae did remember.

The kiss was soft and warm and everything Hyukjae had ever thought of all at once.

“It was the first time that I knew, Hyuk,” Jongwoon started up again, turning the street and facing the ramen shop the blonde also used to visit an incredible number of times after work before finding the brunette, “that Donghae loves you as well.”

And from there, Hyukjae’s heart exploded.

Confirmation from his best friend only further inclined his suspicions that he and Donghae had nothing holding them back from being together.

But then he thought about now, and how Donghae hadn’t been seen for the last 10 hours at least, and Hyukjae wept.

This time, the overflow of tears couldn’t be kept in as Hyukjae bawled even harder than he ever had before.

“It’s okay Hyukjae, it’s okay,” Jongwoon tried to soothe, reaching into his glove compartment and retracting with a small box of facial tissues, “everything’s going to be okay. I swear.”

The eldest wiped the blonde’s tears gently, making sure to catch each and every last one.

“I said all this because…because Donghae loves you a lot, and whether you know it or not, he’ll make it…because he loves you and he won’t leave this world without you.”

Jongwoon finished, pulling his hand back and thumbing the last of Hyukjae’s final tears.

"I have to go inside for a few minutes, stay here."

Jongwoon smiled, placing his hand on Hyukjae's for only a minute before squeezing it.

The black-headed male opened the door and hopped out, repeating the same drill they had been over for the past few hours of this morning;

Drive.

Stop.

Look.

Repeat.

After only a few minutes, Jongwoon wobbled back into the car before another attack of fresh tears could swamp Hyukjae again, shutting the door, hitting the ignition and taking off.

“We’ll find him, it’ll all turn up.” Jongwoon reasoned, though, not completely sure of who he’s trying to reassure anymore; himself or Hyukjae.

A vibrating cellphone accompanied by the loud ring of a tone came from Jongwoon’s pocket as he fished out the cellular device and pressed it to his ear.

“Hello?” He began, voice stern and unfaltering. This case of the missing Donghae was top priority to him, and no distractions can be included before this investigation reaches a break.

“We’ve caught a break!” the voice on the other line says, alarmed tone not muffled enough, reaching the black-headed detective’s ears.

“We’ve caught a break on the investigation! Stop everything you’re doing and head down to the station. 10-57, Abduction section 20.01 Penal code.”

Jongwoon hung up, skewing the car into an incomplete U-turn just in time before the flood gates closed.

Hyukjae held onto the handles by God as Jongwoon all but dashed the car all the way around, heat and traction excreting from the wheels in the form of sound.

“Donghae’s in trouble.” Jongwoon voiced, piercing gaze remaining on the road as he stepped on the gas pedal for what seemed like the millionth time that morning.

Hyukjae’s tears began to form again as they disappeared down a hill on the street.