[January 22 - 23, 2018]

[Text Messages from Byun Baekhyun to Oh Sehun on January 22nd, 2018]

~.~.~.~.~

[Text messages from Kim Yeji to Oh Sehun, January 23rd, 2018]

~.~.~.~.~

[RING]

[RING]

[RING]

You have reached the voicemail inbox of Oh Sehun and Oh Sehun cannot make it to the phone right now. Please, leave a message after the tone.

[BEEP]

[Heavy breathing, gasping for air] Sehun? Please, pick up. Where are you? God, Baek, I have a bad feeling about thi--no, he didn't pick up--do you think he's...no of course not I--

[LINE DISCONNECTED]

~.~.~.~.~

[January 24th, 2018]

[RING]

[RING]

[RING]

You have reached the voicemail inbox of Oh Sehun and Oh Sehun cannot make it to the phone right now. Please, leave a message after the tone.

[BEEP]

He's still not picking up, Yeji. He's--Ji, please calm dow--

[LINE DISCONNECTED]

~.~.~.~.~

[January 25th, 2018; 9:40 PM KST]

[RING]

[RING]

[RI--

"Sehun?"

"Yeji."

"Y--you're not Sehun."

"Kim Yeji."

"Where is he? Where the hell is Sehun? Why the  do you have his cell phone?"

[STATIC] "Pretty, pretty, pretty little Yeji."

"Where the hell is Sehun?"

"You used to be so, [STATIC] so obedient. So good. So smart. Now, look at you." [STATIC] "You are not wanted there."

"Shut the up and tell me where you took him."

[STATIC] "He is ours to collect." [HIGH PITCHED KEENING] "He will be next." [STATIC]

[LINE DISCONNECTED]

~.~.~.~.~

[Crackling]

"I'm sure no one's listening right now. It's like two in the morning on a Thursday." Yeji takes a deep breath before she continues whispering into her phone, the live recording app the only light in the room. She glances at Baekhyun's curled up form on the floor while she sleeps in his bed. His hand is outstretched in her direction, upwards, and his chest rises and falls at a steady rhythm. "I just--I'm sure, I'm sure you've all heard about the disappearance. They--those ing cops think we're suspects. They really, honest-to-God think that we're the reason why Sehun disappeared and, oh my god, oh my god."

Yeji takes another deep, steadying breath and anger surges through her at the thought, the looks on the cop's faces as she tried to explain the phone call, the dismissive way they spoke, the fact that they took her and Baekhyun into custody just so they'd have something to tell the swarm of media outside. She thinks of that other phone call, that person's threats. 

She's clutching her phone and her voice is low, angry, determined. "I don't know how you knew we were going to go into that place. Maybe you checked the poll results, maybe you're the only one listening to me right now. You don't want us there. I don't know why. I don't know anything, but I do know that you're threatening me and my best friends and you took Sehun from me and, god, god, you threatened Baek, too? I will ing find him. How ing dare you?"

Baekhyun stirs in his pile of blankets on the floor but he doesn't wake up. His cheek is squished against his pillow and he looks so peaceful and she cannot believe whoever this person is thought she'd be okay with them threatening her friends, her family. 

"I will find them all." She mutters, spite dripping from her tone. Then she cuts off the broadcast and her chest heaves, up and down, up and down. 

Baekhyun's voice drifts between them, despite the fact that his eyes are closed and he still looks like he's sleeping peacefully. His voice is low, rough around the edges, "We'll do it together." His tone is stern, serious. 

She blinks down at him, shadows angling across his face, obscuring his eyes even as he holds out his hand, palm outstretched and pretty fingers inviting. 

Slowly, so slowly, her cheeks burning inexplicably and her heart swelling, she wraps her fingers through his, her hand dangling off his bed. There is a sort of melancholy between them because now Sehun is gone, taken from them, and the stakes are higher than ever and she is afraid. She is afraid.

Baekhyun rubs little circles into the back of her hand with his warm thumb. He says, "We'll find him."

She nods and nods and he squeezes her hand, gently.