"Waaaaaaaaahhh it's great!!!" Areum screamed her heart out, totally forgot about Chanyeol once she stepped out of Chanyeol's condominium. 

It had been a while since Areum had her own freedom. Being a daughter of an over protective parents, her freedom was stolen. She was lucky that her parents' trusted Kyungsoo or else she could never step out of her house. But still, sometimes Areum wanted to be alone.

So when such opportunity knocked, Areum did not want to miss it. The girl found it exciting to explore the whole city without no one staring at her. Human was gone to Quera World anyway, getting their life lengthen. There was only her that was conscious in Human World. That thought was intriguing the girl even more. 

Areum took a stroll in the city, did not even know where was she heading. Who cares? It's the fun! As the girl walked, she found countless stilled human scattered here and there. Even the cars stopped. The only one moving was her. Reveled in the silence and the serene it offered, Areum kept on walking. 

An hour had passed without the girl knowing. The portals started to appear again. Areum watched with her own eyes as human soul returned to their body. A siren rang, acting as a trigger. Then, Human World lived again. Cars started moving, sparkling light flickered, human started walking, bumping shoulders with Areum.

Her mind told her to find her way back but her heart told the otherwise. The night in the city was beyond Areum's imagination. The girl was enthralled by the flickering light, the music from the busker and the scent from street food. As if she was hypnotized, the girl disappeared in the crowd.

The uneasiness around human also disappeared as it was shadowed by raging excitement.

...

Baekhyun was awakened by his father's snore. Propping his head up, Baekhyun caressed Beomseok's cheek gently. His hand then traced to his father's swollen forehead. Unwittingly tears trickled down Baekhyun's face. Slowly, he leaned closer to the older man beside him and placed his lips against the swollen forehead.

"Dad! Stop!" Baekhyun tried to drag his father away from the wall but Beomseok's strength was profound. 

"Beomie is useless. Let me die! Let me die!" Beomseok kept banging his head against the wall.

"Dad! Stop it! Dad! Please!" Baekhyun pleaded. His cheek was already soaked with tears. 

Hugging his old man from the back, Baekhyun pulled his father away from the wall with all his might. Both of them collapsed on the floor. Baekhyun immediately hugged Beomseok tight, preventing him from escaping. He could feel his father's hand hitting his chest.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Beomseok struggled to be freed. His hand continuously hit Baekhyun's chest.

"It's fine dad. It's fine. Calm down" the stronger Beomseok hit him, the tighter his embrace. Baekhyun bumped his father's head against his chest and kissed his forehead repeatedly.

After a while, Beomseok's energy dwindled. His strength had subsided. Only heavy breath could be heard. Assured that Beomseok had calmed down, Baekhyun let him go. Instead, Baekhyun held Beomseok by his shoulder. His heart broke into pieces when he noticed the blood on Beomseok's head.

"Dad. Why did you do that?" Baekhyun asked softly almost inaudible.

"Beomie can't write like Hyunie. It's hard" that wrenched Baekhyun's heart even more. Pulling his father into his arm again, Baekhyun Beomseok's back.

"I-It's f-fine dad. You did well. Very well" Baekhyun stumbled with his words as he stifled his sob. His eyes already soaked with tears. 

Baekhyun stared at Beomseok's calm face. The man wondered what kind of dream Beomseok had that he slept so soundly despite the injury on his forehead. This was not the first time Beomseok tried to harm himself though but Baekhyun could not help from blaming himself everytime it happened. Guilt surged all over him again.

"I'm sorry dad. I'm very sorry" Baekhyun murmured.

Again, the tears rolled down his cheek. 

"And I love you" 

...

Chanyeol found himself sleeping on the couch. Seeing his laptop had ran out of battery, the man cursed. Ruffling his tousled hair, Chanyeol sauntered towards the glass window. He pulled away the curtain, letting the sun basking him with its light. 

Appeased, Chanyeol paced to the bathroom. Breakfast menu lingered in Chanyeol's head as he brushed his teeth. The man was thinking on preparing English breakfast. He did not have to rush to his studio anyway. His next schedule was on midday.

Done with personal business in the bathroom, Chanyeol strode to his kitchen and started preparing for breakfast. In a short period of time, pleasing smell wafted in the air, drooling anyone who smelt. Chanyeol was indeed a connoisseur not only in his studio but also in the kitchen. 

It did not take long for Chanyeol to finish. Satisfied with his cooking, Chanyeol smiled to himself. After setting the table, Chanyeol made his way to Areum's room. To be honest, the man could not wait to see Areum's face expression once she tasted his cooking. Her reaction always made his day. Unconsciously, Chanyeol smiled.

"Areum-ah. Wake up. Let's eat together" Chanyeol knocked a few times. He waited for a respond.

Silence.

"Areum-ah?" Chanyeol knocked again but a tad louder just in case Areum was in the bathroom. He placed his ear against the door, searching for a sound. Futile. It was dead silence in Areum's room. Anxious, Chanyeol turned the knob. Eyes widened, Chanyeol's heartbeat elevated.

Areum was not in her room.

...

"Dad, remember, if anything happened, call me. You know which number to press right?" Baekhyun handed a phone to his father. Beomseok nodded in respond.

"Later, Hyoju ahjumma will come and cook you lunch. Love you dad" Baekhyun kissed Beomseok's temple and headed out. 

Humming to a melody, Baekhyun went down the stairs. Each time he bumped with his neighbor, Baekhyun politely greeted them. As a routine, Baekhyun would help the old woman who lived at the first floor threw her rubbish. The old woman also aware of Baekhyun's routine, waited for him.

With a smile on his face, Baekhyun gladly offered his help. Not a single complain ever escaped from this man. For him, a good deed always appeasing. Placing the rubbish at the respected area, Baekhyun noticed a familiar figure on a bench not far from his apartment, sleeping.

Curious, Baekhyun paced closer. Sweeping away the hair that covered the girl's face, Baekhyun recognized her right away. Shock, Baekhyun gasped in disbelief. His mind tried to rack thousands of reasons on how did this girl get here. The girl's lips was slightly apart, indicating how soundly she slept. Amused, Baekhyun chuckled. Suddenly a call came, startling Baekhyun.

"Baekhyun-ah! Areum is missing! She-"

"She's with me" Baekhyun snapped.

"What?!" Chanyeol's hight pitch voice forced Baekhyun to pull away his phone from his ear.

"What do you mean she's with you? How did she get there? Did you come here last night? Wait, did I drunk last night?" Chanyeol bombarded Baekhyun with his questions. 

"Wow wow calm down dude. I'm puzzled myself. I found her sleeping on a bench near my apartment" Baekhyun explained. He glanced at Areum who was sleeping deeply, did not even aware with the stare from the passer-by.

"What the -"

"Stop cursing and come here. I need to go to work. I'll wait for you at a park near my place" without waiting for a respond, Baekhyun ended the call. He shifted his attention to Areum. 

"Areum-ah, hey, wake up" Baekhyun shook the girl gently. Did not even budge, Baekhyun massaged his temple. How can she sleep in a place like this?

"Ya! Wake up!" Baekhyun tapped Areum's cheek repeatedly. It seemed working as Areum's face scrunched.

"Let me sleep for a while. It's still early" Areum croaked out. Her eyelids felt so heavy. Baekhyun shook his head.

"Early? Hey! The sun already up! Areum-ah! Wake up!" Baekhyun shrieked. Luckily he still had some times before work or else Areum would die in humiliation from all the stares. Having no option, Baekhyun pushed Areum from the bench, causing Areum to fall on the ground.

"Argh!" Areum groaned in pain. Fail to suppress his laugh, Baekhyun laughed hysterically.

"Good morning princess. Nice dream?" Baekhyun teased. His laugh burst again looking at Areum's bewildered face.

Areum looked around to find herself lying on the ground. It then dawned to her that she had fallen asleep in the public. Caught by Baekhyun did not make it any better. It was worse! How embarrassing! Heat rose to Areum's cheek.

"H-how did I get here?" Areum muttered. The girl tried her best to avoid Baekhyun's eyes. Only God knew how muh she cursed inside.

"That's the question that I should ask" Baekhyun chuckled.

"Get up. Let's go somewhere else. People are staring" Baekhyun offered his hand to help Areum stood up.

"Huh?" Areum lifted her chin up and stared at Baekhyun's hand then flitted to Baekhyun's face. 

"Come on" Baekhyun grabbed Areum by her wrist and immediately Areum was already stood straight. With Areum's hand in his, Baekhyun strode away.

Little did he notice, Areum was blushing.

...

Kyungsoo his Wolfie, feeling his thick fur against his palm. Wolfie in the other hand was snuggling in Kyungsoo's arm. His dog was his companion. These days, Wolfie played his role well. He made Kyungsoo smiled when smiling was the hardest thing to do for the man. Miserable was the best word to describe Kyungsoo's condition.

It was already the third day but Areum was still nowhere to be found. Kyungsoo's phone never left his side in case Areum gave him a call but it was useless. Futile. Kyungsoo kept blaming himself for not listening to Areum that night. He started to imagine bad things that might happen to that vulnerable woman.  

Is she being kidnapped?

Is she being caged, gagged and starved?

Or...is she killed?

Kyungsoo shook his head at the malice thought. Taking a lungful of air, Kyungsoo shifted his gaze to Wolfie. It calmed him a tad but still did not cure his insomnia. His mind was too miserable to get a sleep. Sometimes, Kyungsoo was jealous with his own dog for be able to sleep so soundly no matter day or night.

Putting Wolfie down, Kyungsoo made his way to his room. Plopping his body on his comfy bed, Kyungsoo tried to get some sleep. He had to go university in just a few hours but still struggling with his sleep. His students also noticed his trouble face which became worse each day. Failed to sleep, Kyungsoo grunted in frustration. The man ended up staring at his ceiling instead. The ceiling presumably was the most interesting thing he could notice in the moment.

Sick of boredom, Kyungsoo reached for his phone on the nightstand. Only then he realized there was an unread message. Holding his breath, Kyungsoo opened the inbox. To his disappointment, it was not Areum. It was Areum's mom. She texted him almost everyday, asking for her daughter. A surge of guilty struck him as he needed to lie again. 

Kyungsoo-yah, how's Areum? Does she still refuse to talk to me? Does she tell you when will she return? 

Areum is fine eomoni. Yeah but I'll talk to her again. I promise I'll ask her to call you when she has cooled down. I'm sorry eomoni.

Kyungsoo threw his phone away. He ruffled his hair, causing it to be disheveled. The man deemed he had met a dead end. Areum was really missing and her parents had to know the ugly truth. He could not bear all this alone. Areum needed to be found and Kyungsoo needed help. This was driving him crazy!

Just one more night...

If she doesn't return..

I'll tell her parents..

...

"So...you are not from here?" Baekhyun asked. His curiosity about Areum suddenly emerged. The weather was descend, the breeze was just fine and there were only both of them walking along the cobblestone. Baekhyun deemed it was a good time.
 
"Nope" Areum shook her head. Instead of focusing on Baekhyun's question, she kept her focus on the cobblestone as she walked. The way the cobblestone was designed intrigued her more.
 

"Then, where do you come from?" Baekhyun kept questioning despite Areum's indifferent.

"Somewhere you can't ever think" Areum answered ambiguously, still had her head down.

"What? Do you come from heaven?" Baekhyun tried to crack a joke. 

"Somewhere between heaven and earth" Baekhyun frowned to Areum's baffling answer. To Baekhyun, Areum's answer was just a mere joke.

"So funny Areum!" Baekhyun faked a laugh.

"I'm not joking" Areum looked up at Baekhyun and looked straight to his brown eyes. Serious demeanor shown by Areum made Baekhyun terrified a bit. He started to have a doubt whether to trust her words or not.

"Ummm...okay. Do you-" Baekhyun paused when a call arrived. 

"Eo Chanyeol-ah. Where are you?" Baekhyun swirled his head around, looking for Chanyeol's silhouette.

"There's an accident so I think I'll be a little bit late. Just a little bit" Chanyeol exclaimed.

"What?! Ya! I've got to go for work!" Baekhyun yelled. Areum's heart almost leaped out from her chest because of utter shock.

"Yeah yeah I know. 5 minutes okay..I'll be late 5 minutes. Not more not less. If you're afraid you'll be late, just left Areum. I'll be there" Chanyeol suggested.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Baekhyun groaned. It was not he did not want to leave Areum but judging from Areum's dorkiness, Baekhyun did not have that confident.

"Then wait! Aish!" Chanyeol cut the call leaving only the beep tone.

"Ya! Ya! Chanyeol-ah!" Baekhyun huffed as he shoved his phone into his pocket. He looked at his watch. Baekhyun had 10 minutes more.

"Baekhyun-ah..just go. I'm fine. I'll wait for Chanyeol here" Areum creased a smile, assuring the latter that she would be fine if she was alone. Deep in her heart, she felt a tad anxious. Her courage from last night had disappeared. But Areum knew better she could not be selfish.

"No. We'll wait for him together" Baekhyun insisted. Areum felt bad but did not dare to resist anymore. So, they continued walking, drowning in their own thought.

"Baekhyun-ah. May I ask you a question?" Areum suddenly remembered something important that she had forgotten. Baekhyun nodded in respond.

"Chanyeol...is he sick?" Areum asked warily. The girl narrowed her eyes at Baekhyun, observing his reaction. The girl assumed Chanyeol had an illness since he could live less than a month.

"What do you mean by sick here?" Baekhyun's furrow knitted together, tried to fathom Areum's sudden question.

"Yeah if he has an ilness or umm you know" Areum scratched her hair awkwardly.

"Chanyeol...ummm...He had a slight fever last week because of rain. I think he's healed. He can go back to work as usual. You know, he cannot even budge from his bed and I have to cook for him! Aish that friend. Such a baby" Baekhyun laughed, shaking his head. 

Areum however did not think it was funny. Instead, it was confusing her. Her assumption was wrong. Chanyeol would not die because of illness. A frown unwittingly crept to Areum's forehead as she tried to decipher Chanyeol's coming death. The girl also doubted whether she should tell Baekhyun or kept it by herself.

"Areum, what's wrong?" Baekhyun cut Areum's deep thought, bringing the girl back to the earth.

"Err....n-nothing" Areum stuttered as she tried to cover the truth. Fortunately, Baekhyun did not put more thought on it. The man shrugged and headed forward, did not even have the slightest clue on what was lingering in Areum's mind.

A sigh of relief escaped from Areum's lips. The girl decided to keep the secret by herself. There was nothing she could do anyway. Once all five Drowtes were crashed, death was inevitable. No one could escape death. It would come in many ways humans could not even fathom. 

With that thought in mind, Areum calmed herself. Areum kept on walking, keeping her pace with Baekhyun until suddenly that man came into an abrupt stop. Areum almost bumped herself into Baekhyun but luckily her adrenaline worked just fine to stop herself.

"Baekhyun, why-" Areum swirled her head to Baekhyun's direction to see a woman who was familiar yet distant to Areum. The woman was doing a PDA with a man presumably around her age too. Areum squinted to have a better look of the woman who intrigued Baekhyun. 

Jaw dropped. Eyes widened. Areum could not control her expression. She could not believe her eyes but she did not have another option other than accepted the fact. The fact that Baekhyun's girlfriend was kissing with another man. Areum only saw her once in a picture but her face already glued in her mind. 

"A-Areum-ah, l-let's go somewhere else. Chanyeol can't see us here" Baekhyun grabbed Areum's wrist and brought the girl wherever his legs wished. As long as he did not have to watch the painful view, it was fine. 

"Baekhyun but...that-"

"Aigooo! There you are! Are you guys hiding or what? I've been circling this whole place!" Chanyeol suddenly appeared. He scurried to Areum and Baekhyun with a smile on his face.

"Why are you two holding each others hand? Wuuuuu is there something happened?" Chanyeol raised his brow with a smirk. Baekhyun immediately released his grasp. Areum rubbed her wrist as Baekhyun's grasp was too tight.

"Nothing. Why are you so late?" Baekhyun forced a smile, shadowing his pain.

"Sorry bro. Now go. Areum-ah, let's go" Chanyeol took Areum's hand, failed to notice his friend's agony.

"But-"

"Go Areum" Baekhyun said with a reassuring smile. It hurt Areum more but she did not know why. 

"I'm fine" Baekhyun mouthed only for Areum to see.

Areum watched as Baekhyun's sight disappeared from her view as Chanyeol dragged her away. The girl's mind was loaded with unspoken questions. 

Baekhyun-ah...

Are you okay?

I need to finish this story ASAP but I always get distracted aigoooo.. By the way thanks for reading and subscribing =)