Section One: [C h a n] Think

Everyone in the studio came out to see Woojin and Minho once they arrived, their worried expressions frightening Felix. 

"Everybody, come in. It's cold out here." Chan opened the door and everyone filed in and spread out in the room that was originally just adequate space for the trio only. "When was the last time that you saw him?"

Woojin's eyes flickered down to the ground and then towards the lamp that illuminated the studio desk with a soft, pink glow. "I dropped him back off to his house after I proofread his essay. It was in broad daylight earlier, and his parents were home. He can't drive yet and he couldn't have walked more than five miles by himself since the time that I dropped him off... but he wasn't responding to his texts. His parents said that he didn't come in the house, and I have my phone contact linked to his but the connection is gone from the whole city of Seoul. It's either his phone is powered off or-"

"Or he left Seoul." Chan was listening attentively as the others watched him scrawl down notes. 

From the sofa, Felix's phone rang. "Sorry guys, I need to take this call." He stepped into the other room of the studio and answered.

"Felix."

"Mom."

"Please come home. I would like to talk to you."

"Mom, I'm sorry. I'm really busy right now."

"Can I meet you somewhere tomorrow?"

Felix sighed. He needed to help the others search for Jeongin, but he was sure that the others would understand. Chan and Woojin had a shift the next morning too but they were going to call in. The trio was going to prepare for preliminaries in the morning while the others would search, and then the trio would join the others once they completed what they needed to for the day. School classes were canceled once again because of the snow. Even if classes were canceled, he and the others wouldn't feel like going anyway. "I can meet you at the Diamond Boba shop tomorrow morning, but make it quick."

"Ok. Take care. Are you with Changbin?"

"Yes, I'm here with Changbin and the others. I need to go. Bye."

"Bye." Felix headed back in and took a seat before seeing that the others were preparing to search. 

Felix went over to Chan and Woojin. "So I have to meet my mom tomorrow morning, the trio will prepare, and school is canceled because of snow, right?"

Chan nodded. "Yeah, so Changbin, Jisung, and I will prepare in the morning and then join Woojin, Seungmin, Hyunjin, and Minho later in the afternoon. You can meet with your mom and then we'll join up. It will be okay. We will be together. We are going to search now, but we have half an hour to search before it becomes too late. Minho and Woojin will leave in half an hour, and then the rest of us will stay in the studio. I'll let you guys stay up, but not too late because we have lots to do tomorrow."

"Ok. Thanks, Chan." Felix was amazed at how calm and organized Chan stayed despite the situation that they were in. They stepped out as a group, through the snow that was intensifying as the night grew. 

Hyunjin checked his phone for the time. "We should just search nearby for now just in case that his phone is turned off. We can search out of Seoul tomorrow." 

They walked past the playground. Past the school. Past the park. Through the plaza. And nothing. 

"I honestly don't think we're looking hard enough, but it's about time we head back to the studio," Changbin declared, grabbing and squeezing Felix's hand.

"Agreed. It's getting late and it might be dangerous to be looking at this time, so we will continue tomorrow." Chan looked over to Minho and Woojin. "See you guys tomorrow." They waved to Minho and Woojin until they were out of sight, and then the rest of them went back to the studio.

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Monday passed, and it was now Tuesday at 1 in the morning. Chan was still awake. Changbin had fallen asleep on the chair next to Felix, who was on the sofa. Jisung was sprawled across the floor on a small mattress cushion, next to an empty one that Chan was supposed to be sleeping in. Seungmin and Hyunjin got the other storage room. As Chan tiptoed from the small bathroom, he stopped outside the room that Seungmin and Hyunjin were in. There was whispering. 

Hyunjin spoke quietly. "Seungmin, I can't sleep. There's so much that just happened." More inaudible whispering. 

Chan heard a breath before a soft instrumental played, from the lowest volume setting on Seungmin's phone. Guitar strumming; an acoustic version. It was EXO's "Love, Love, Love". A gentle voice, belonging to Seungmin, wafted through the room. 

"문이 열린 그 순간
내가 알던 세상과
다른 곳이 펼쳐져
니가 뜨고 지고 니가 피고 지고
너는 참 이렇게 이렇게 따사로워" ...

"The moment the door opens, 

A different place from the world

I knew is before me

You rise and set, you bloom

And wither, you are so warm" ...

Chan took a seat silently on the chair by the front of the room, leaning towards the wall and taking in the beauty of Seungmin's voice.

"잘 실감이 안 나 왜 꿈이 아닌 건지
나도 믿기지 않아 너 사람인 게 맞니
넌 모르겠지 아마 모를 거야
너를 향한 내 맘 Love, love, love" ...

"It doesn't feel real yet, why isn't this a dream?

I can't believe it either, are you really human?

You wouldn't know, you probably don't know,

About my feelings for you; Love, love, love" ... 

Chan smiled before standing up from the chair and laying down on the mattress cushion on the floor.

Section Two: [F e l i x] Apology

It was Tuesday morning, and Felix's eyes flickered open. He propped his arm up to look around from atop the sofa; he saw Changbin half on the chair, half on the sofa, Jisung who was now on the side of the mattress cushion clinging onto it, and Chan who was hugging a pillow so tightly that the pillowcase was sliding off. He then remembered what had happened; Hyunjin and Seungmin were in the other room, Minho and Woojin were at their own places for the studio wasn't large enough, and Jeongin was still missing. 

Felix got up and poked Chan's shoulder. "Chan, wake up."

Chan sighed before he opened his eyes and sprung up into a sitting position. "Morning, Felix. Thanks for waking me up." Chan jumped up, surprisingly energetic despite his tired eyes, and gently shook Changbin and Jisung awake. Felix headed into the other room to wake Seungmin and Hyunjin up as Chan opened the fridge to see if they had any leftovers to have for breakfast. 

"Does Coke, leftover pastries, and cheeseballs sound good for breakfast? I'm so sorry guys, but we don't really have time to stop and buy breakfast today..." Chan apologized as the five others crowded around the table.

"Cheeseballs sound great to me!" Jisung smiled, happily taking the container that Chan was trying his best to hide from him. 

Hyunjin nodded. "I'll take whatever." Seungmin nodded along. Chan distributed the breakfast, and Felix was preparing to leave for the shop to meet his mother. Chan, Changbin, and Jisung were already by the computer monitor as Seungmin and Hyunjin left to meet Minho and Hyunjin and then continue to search. 

"See you guys later," Felix waved as he headed out the door.

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Felix sat across his mother in the shop, a small cup of milk tea with boba in his hand.

His mother looked at him, distressed face gone; a much more relaxed expression. "Hello, Felix. How have you been?"

"Hi mom. I'm good." Felix had given up being formal with his mother, but she didn't seem to care anymore either.

"So where have you been staying?"

"I've been staying at Chan, Changbin, and Jisung's studio."

Mrs. Lee nodded. "I bet you like it better there."

Felix didn't say anything.

She continued. "Are they taking care of you well?"

"Very. It's more homely than home."

There was a small silence before Felix remembered what he had to say. 

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"I'm going to support Changbin in 3RACHA at the Mirror Complex Artist Preliminaries. The complex is still in Seoul, but if you are going to wonder where I am, I'm with them. We are going as a group of nine total." Felix thought for a second, remembering that Jeongin made nine. Jeongin will be found before preliminaries, Felix tried to reassure himself.

"I see." Mrs. Lee nodded. "Well, let me know what's going on. Sometimes I'm worried, Yongbok."

"Mom, trust me. I'll be fine. The others and I... we take care of each other, Mom. You can meet them after preliminaries if you want."

Mrs. Lee hesitated. "Okay..."

"Well, I'll be on my way. I really need to go. Bye mom!"

"Bye, Felix."

Section Three: [F e l i x] Search

It was now 11 am, and the eight were searching for Jeongin. At this point, they were on the outskirts of Seoul, bundled in layers upon layers of warm clothes.

"Jeongin might have went back into Seoul in the time it took us to search the outskirts too, you know. He moves quicker than us," Changbin suggested. Woojin was clearly the most uneasy. He sat on the icy curb away from the others who had split up to search the streets that began to extend to the next city.

Chan put his hand on Woojin's shoulder. "You okay?"

Woojin's lashline was tear-brimmed. "What if he was taken? What if he wasn't the one to make a conscious choice to leave?"

Chan realized that he hadn't thought about it that way. "He couldn't have been, Woojin. He's strong and he's tall, even taller than me. He's really intelligent too, and he knows how to protect himself. He is fine, Woojin." Woojin wrapped his arms around Chan, leaning his head towards Chan. 

Chan continued to talk, taking out his small notepad. "So anyway, you told me yesterday that he was last seen wearing a black coat?"

"Yes."

"And you told me that his shirt underneath was blue?"

"Yup."

Chan reviewed the information that he had written down before he gently pulled Woojin to stand up. "Let's get going. It's too cold and we need to keep going. I'm not going to preliminaries without Jeongin. All nine of us need to be there."

"You mean... you're sure that we'll find Jeongin even if... even if it means giving up your fame and success?"

"I just want all of you guys to be happy, that's all. I want all of you guys to find happiness. Even if that means I have to give up my dreams."

"No, Chan, even if you sacrifice your dreams, there is still one person that won't be content."

"Who?"

"Me. I'm not going to be happy if you're not happy."