---

Jongin cranes his neck to get a better view, until a flash of movement once again catches his eye. He honestly doesn't know what to believe, and he finds himself standing bolted to the muddy ground like a statue as he keeps his eyes fixated on the many branches.

"I'll come down, hang on!"

Jongin is nearly about to open his mouth to speak (not that he has any idea what he's going to say) when he hears leaves rustling, closely followed by a flash of baby blue appearing before his eyes and thereafter a dull thud. Jongin flinches before taking a step back, mouth hanging open like a goldfish as he blinks.

"Thank God you didn't dye your hair like you said you would or else I wouldn't have recognized you," Luhan chuckles, light brown hair blowing in the wind as he stares at Jongin with a grin. Jongin barely even has a chance to register what he's hearing when Luhan suddenly pounces on him, literally tackling them both to the ground in a bone crushing embrace that nearly has Jongin gasping for air. It's not until Jongin hears a female voice saying something in a scolding tone that Luhan quickly gets up and pulls Jongin to his feet.

Luhan has grown at least four inches since they last saw each other a year ago, and he's surpassed Jongin's height significantly, much to the latter's envy. His baby shirt is covered in bits of orange leaves and his white jeans are stained with mud after jumping down from the branch. It's a giant contrast to the usual smelly, wrinkle clothing Jongin has been used to seeing him in (or rather, the clothes Jongdae forced him to wear), and Jongin figures that if it wasn't for the orange striped ears on his head and tail swaying behind his back, he probably wouldn't even have spared Luhan a second glance. But Jongin is glad he did, because the spark he's grown so used to seeing in Luhan's eyes seems to have returned. At least he's no longer on the streets, Jongin figures, and he's about to open his mouth to speak when Luhan suddenly jabs his arm.

"Don't tell me you've gone mute now, too," Luhan says with a laugh before Jongin swats his hand away. His ears are twitching in joy and it doesn't take long for Jongin to realize that his are, too. "Here, lemme introduce you to my parents." He beams before turning around and Jongin bites his lip when he looks at his tail, which is severed at the tip. "This is my best friend Jongin!" He points to the younger. "I've talked to you about him before, remember?"

Blushing slightly, Jongin nods at the man and woman, the ones he'd seen staring up at the tree, before proceeding to awkwardly shake their hands. "Hi," he mutters, eyeing the ground shyly as he takes a step back and wraps his tail around his ankle. Luhan's parents continue to send him looks until he fights the urge to run off and hide behind a tree. Thankfully, Luhan chooses that moment to turn around and put a hand on his shoulder.

"So, what've you been up to lately?" Luhan asks with a bright smile as he pats Jongin's shoulder. It's not until his foster parents start walking in the opposite direction that he looks at the younger. "Wanna come over for a bit or are they expecting you?" He rolls up his sleeves and Jongin immediately notices the dark but healed scars on his wrists.

Jongin is silent for an embarrassingly long time before he clears his throat. "Uh, no, it's...it's fine--" He scratches the back of his ear. "I mean, it's fine in the sense that I can come over, I'm...I don't--" With a sigh, he forces himself to look away when he feels the familiar coiling sensation pooling in his gut. They're both silent for a minute before he averts his gaze and sees the look on Luhan's face. 

"Again, huh?" Luhan asks softly, although it comes out sounding more like a statement than a question, a look of pity all over his face when Jongin nods slowly.

"Yeah, no, I mean yeah, but it's like...whatever," Jongin huffs and shoves his hands in his pockets. 

Luhan nods slowly as he runs a hand through his hair, which seems to be dyed the same color as his ears. "I see, I see," he hums and turns his head, only to squawk when he sees how far away his parents are. "We better hurry, you hungry?" He beams, the cheerful sparkle returning to his eyes as he grabs Jongin's sleeve and drags him in the opposite direction.

--

Pouring coffee into his thermos, Sehun simultaneously attempts to cut up his sandwich with a fork before giving up (in his defense, they had no knives left). He only mutters something under his breath when Baekhyun proceeds to send him a weirded out look. Sehun figures he's either simply tired (despite having slept for 9 hours, which is the most he's slept in a month) or internally pining over the piles of papers waiting for him in his office. In truth, Sehun would be lying if he said arriving to work early would help him get more things done sooner, because during the past three hours since his arrival, he's barely made any progress.

Sehun doesn't even want to know what it is, but as he sat in his chair and worked, he would constantly find himself whirling around in his chair and eyeing the window after ten minutes went by, only to exhale in relief when he realized it was, in fact, locked and not sitting open. After a while, he found the silence in the room so overbearing that he ended up bouncing his leg up and down for two hours straight whilst occasionally glancing over his shoulder. Sehun eventually had to retreive his earphones from his briefcase when the uneasiness of the silence made him feel so on edge he worried his brain might implode. Sehun actually ended up taking a second lunch break to escape the eerie silence in his office, but he had absolutely no intentions of eating. It wasn't until Baekhyun walked in to grab some coffee and noticed Sehun standing motionless by the counter that he offered to stay behind and chat (or, to be precise, force Sehun to eat after lecturing the latter about the dangers of skipping lunch. Sehun didn't even bother protesting.).

"You're just being paranoid," Baekhyun huffs for the nth time when Sehun unconsciously bounces his leg up and down underneath the table, accidentally knocking the redhead's shin. "Ghosts aren't real, you big baby," he adds with an eyeroll after Sehun tells him to shut it. Now that Sehun thinks about it, Baekhyun really has no reason to hate on him for being paranoid, considering the former has been pining on and on about office stalkers after entering his office after lunch and discovering his favorite painting on the floor, the entire frame cracked as it lay face down on the carpet. Sehun vividly remembers Baekhyun storming into his room in hysterics whilst screaming about finding a pair of muddy shoeprints on his couch. Surprisingly enough, Sehun found his own office, as well as what used to be Jongdae's, safe and intact. When they questioned Chanyeol about it, he only grunted something about finding his car unlocked after going down to the parking lot to grab a few things, before he disappeared back into his office.

"Shut it," Sehun mumbles, taking a sip of coffee. He hopes the caffeine will jolt his brain awake, since he came close to swerving off the road during his short trip to the office this morning, which was followed by him parking his car in the wrong parking space subsequently. Other than that, he remembers waking up feeling somewhat refreshed. However, it wasn't until after Sehun fetched his car keys, only to realize that he'd accidentally grabbed Jongin's collar instead, that his brain seemed to go haywire. Sehun hopes he isn't going crazy, since he's got a report due in in two days - he figures he's missed enough deadlines for one week.

Baekhyun watches Sehun run a nervous hand through his hair before sighing. "Anyway, why're you so jittery, anyway? It's not like you're being stalked by a murderer," he mutters before shoving a spoonful of rice in his mouth. His eyebrows furrow. "Hey, what happened with Jongin? I heard you guys fought." He presses his lips together when Sehun's expression suddenly shifts. "That's too bad, really," he says softly whilst chewing. He swallows before wiping his mouth with a napkin. "You know, he seemed to really like you."

Sehun takes a bite of his sandwich, but he quickly sets it aside when he realizes it tastes like nothing. Except when I tried to bathe him, he thinks and stifles a chuckle as he rests his head on his left hand. "It's nice to know I did a better job than Jongdae, at least," he mumbles before fidgeting with the plastic wrapper on his sandwich.

Baekhyun is silent for a second before he takes a sip of water. "I meant, as in, he stared at you a lot."

Sehun raises an eyebrow. "He stared at everything."

"Like, when you guys were in my office, his eyes actually had stars in 'em when he looked at you, it was sorta creepy," Baekhyun interrupts, finishing his food and stretching. "Oh, and his ears also did the thing--" He points to the sides of his head and twirls his fingers. "Like, they did the weird thing where they like, twitch, kinda like when they see a bird or a mouse." A loud laugh leaves his lips before he gets up and grabs the last leftover donut from the pantry. "I'm not sharing, by the way."

Sehun exhales slowly. "Yeah, well, he didn't deserve to be trapped in an office building his whole life," he mutters, ignoring the pang of guilt in his chest. He forces himself to take another bite out of his sandwich and instantly regrets it when he feels nauseous upon swallowing. "He'll find somebody soon, though," he says after a minute of silence. 

Baekhyun nods in agreement. "With that personality, I'd be surprised if he isn't chasing butterflies in some family of three's backyard right this second," he hums before he chuckles. "Hell, maybe Chanyeol decided to take him in, who knows." He wipes the powdered sugar off his lips.

"What do you mean?" Sehun blurts out, not even realizing he's squeezing the life out of his sandwich until he hears the plastic crinkling in his hands and a tomato slice slips out and lands on the table. Baekhyun only grimaces.

Baekhyun presses his lips together before putting his hands up in defense. "I mean, not to start , but like--" He shrugs casually. "Chanyeol seemed to take an interest in him, which is weird since he's always ing about how much he can't stand hybrids, but hell if I know," he adds and gets out of his chair. When he sees Sehun's puzzled expression, he simply shrugs again. "I know Jongin ing hated him, though." He yawns loudly. "You should've seen his face and how he nearly clawed Chanyeol's eyes out after he tried petting his head, it was hil-a-rious."

Sehun blinks. Even though he's well aware of Chanyeol's distaste for hybrids (and animals in general), he suddenly remembers Jongin expressing his dislike towards the taller on multiple occasions. In fact, amidst the fog in his mind, Sehun recalls Jongin going as far as to flat out refusing to talk to Chanyeol when asked, and Sehun can't help the uncomfortable coiling in his stomach that nearly has his sandwich (or the little he's eaten of it) coming back up. The redhead seems to notice his expression and he simply clears his throat. "Yeah, it's...he really wouldn't be a good pet owner," he mutters absentmindedly.

"He'd be a zillion times better than Jongdae for sure," Baekhyun chuckles. "Don't tell Chanyeol I told you this, but I actually think he's a giant teddy bear at heart," he adds with a snicker before gesturing at the door. "You coming?" he asks and blinks when Sehun doesn't even budge. "It's not like he was your boyfriend, you don't need to think about it anymore." He tsks when Sehun simply tells him to shut it, and it's not until they're in the hallway that Sehun turns his heel and begins walking in the opposite direction. "Wait, hey, where're you going--"

"Need some air," Sehun mumbles, mainly to himself as he scurries down the stairs and throws the door open.

--

Once he's outside, Sehun immediately regrets leaving his coat at home when he's nearly knocked off his feet by a strong breeze. Not wanting to go back inside yet, he simply shoves his hands in his pockets before descending the steps all at once and crossing the road. He knows it won't be long before his boss notices his absence, so Sehun figures he'll sit and relax by the pond before he makes his way towards the park. His head is still spinning and Sehun hopes the bridge isn't littered with children and swimmers, because he seriously needs to lie down and be alone with his thoughts for a bit. However, fate doesn't seem to be on Sehun's side and the sound of giggling and splashing soon reaches his ears. Sehun huffs in annoyance before looking around for a second. He soon spots a bench over by the raspberry bushes and heads towards it before anybody else has a chance to beat him to it.

As he walks, and nearly trips over a rock lying in his path, Sehun can't help but replay Baekhyun's words in his head. Sehun suddenly remembers how Jongin's expression would shift every time Chanyeol was brought up, and Sehun forces himself to believe that Jongin simply found Chanyeol's smoking habit off putting and avoided him because of it. As for Chanyeol himself, Sehun finds himself biting his lip and nearly smacks himself in the face, because even the most stone hearted person would find Jongin charming. Even Chanyeol, Sehun figures and winces when he nearly rips his pants on a thorn as he walks towards the bench. He's well aware that he's in the danger zone, but Sehun figures he'll simply walk back to the office if some random alcoholic were to come up to him.

The raspberry bush is nearly taller than Sehun himself and Sehun briefly wonders why it isn't called a raspberry hedge before sitting down and crossing his legs. With the sun beating down on his face, he immediately feels himself relax. A few magpies chirp as they sit perched on a branch above his head, their melodies getting carried away by the silent breeze, and Sehun actually does smack himself when he's on the verge of lashing out in order to prevent an invisible Jongin from scrambling up the tree and trying to eat them.

Miraculously, Sehun manages to lull himself into a trance as he sits with his eyes closed, the sun warming up his face as the birds sing in the background. He figures he must have been sitting in the same spot for at least half an hour before a cramping sensation shoots up his entire leg. Sehun can practically see Baekhyun rushing around like a headless chicken in the office wondering where he is, so he stretches and opens his eyes. Sehun immediately regrets it when he's nearly blinded, and he turns his head away before blinking rapidly.

Sehun stills, because whilst he attempts to blink the harsh light out of his eyes, he thinks he sees something blue flash momentarily. At first he thinks his eyes are playing tricks on him, but it's not until he gets his vision back that he furrows his eyebrows. He eyes the jacket, which is lying in a rumpled heap on the ground, nearly entirely covered in mud and dyed a dark gray color due to the rain. Sehun figures he should probably place it on the bench in case somebody comes looking for it, so he slowly gets off the bench and nearly trips as a result of his leg falling asleep.

A strange feeling pools in Sehun's gut the second his palm comes in contact with the spongy material, but he dismisses it before picking it up. In fact, Sehun doesn't even realizes his heart is racing until he's blindly reaching into the pockets. The feeling of confusion soon warps into a sense of nausea when he unclenches his fist and sees the squishy avocado, which has turned mushy and a shade of gray thanks to the rain, in his hands. Before Sehun knows it, he's rummaging through the other pocket, only to blink in surprise when he pulls out a cell phone. Sehun's heart trembles in his chest when a photo of Jongin holding up a large fish on what looks like a boat, with a smile that radiates happiness and proudness, greets him.

However, worry soon gets the best of him and Sehun hurriedly unlocks the phone, which thankfully has no passcode, and he scrolls through the contact list. Jongin only seems to have two contacts on his phone, those being Luhan and somebody whom Sehun assumes is his first foster Mother. Sehun bites his lip, wondering if he should press down on 'Mom ❤️❤️' or  'Luhannie :3'.

Sehun soon finds himself going for the latter, and Sehun presses the phone to ear. It suddenly dawns on him that he hasn't recited what he's planning on saying when, and if, Luhan picks up, but his worry only grows when Luhan's voicemail goes off. Sehun figures he'll text instead, but it's not until until he opens up Jongin's text messages that Sehun sees that Jongin hasn't texted, and thus seemingly contacted, neither his foster Mother nor Luhan since early 2016. Sehun ends up kneeling on the muddy ground for what feels like forever before he scrambles to his feet, picks up the cold, damp jacket and runs back towards the office building. 

---