Where is he?

Kyungsoo stared worriedly at the clock, amidst the noisy chitchat surrounding him. It was already past five in the afternoon. Chanyeol’s mother, uncle and dongseang had arrived an hour ago. His mother was already there as well, and Luhan, too. Had Chanyeol forgotten about their first appointment with the wedding planner?

Well, it had been raining cats and dogs all afternoon. So maybe he got stuck at traffic.

“You know, purple seems to be a popular motif now,” Luhan suggested, his doe eyes twinkling.

Minseok, with his cat-like gaze widening, jumped up in agreement. “And gray too!”

They both turned to Kyungsoo expectantly.

Kyungsoo only nodded in distraction, his eyes still on the door, not wanting to miss the moment Chanyeol walked in.

Kyungsoo had been feeling uneasy since waking up this morning, upon discovering that he had been alone in bed all night. Frantic, Kyungsoo had pulled on his robe and gone to look for him.

The first place he’d thought of was his alpha’s office. Sure enough, there was Chanyeol, head slumped on his desk, dead to the world.

His computer was still buzzing, although it, too, had gone to sleep mode.

Kyungsoo had sighed, putting the duvet that was resting on the sofa on the taller one’s shoulders. He couldn’t imagine Chanyeol had been asleep for very long.

Chanyeol had stirred, springing up on his feet once he’d recognized his omega, as the duvet fell unnoticed on the floor.

“What time is it?” Chanyeol had murmured, rubbing his eyes while trying to recover equilibrium at the same time.

“It’s only 6:30,” Kyungsoo had soothed, his back. “Come to bed.”

Chanyeol had shaken his head, widening his eyes as if to keep drowsiness at bay. He hadn’t seemed aware that Kyungsoo was leading him to walk by the arm. “I’m already late.” The moment they’d reached the bedroom, the taller one went straight to the bathroom.

The next thing Kyungsoo had heard was the shower running.

Kyungsoo had just started brewing coffee minutes later when his alpha came out in a dark suit, arranging his tie as he went.

“Nampyeon,” Kyungsoo had called out as Chanyeol walked past him in the kitchen.

Chanyeol had turned around, blinking, as if startled that there was someone else in the house with him.

“Don’t you want to eat something?”

He’d shaken his head again, reaching into his pocket for his Rolex to put on. “No time.”

Kyungsoo had exhaled in resignation, approaching him from behind the kitchen counter, and helped him with the crooked knot of his tie. Years of doing it for his father, who couldn’t tie his own properly to save his life, had proved to be useful.

Chanyeol had stared at his omega while Kyungsoo deliberately focused on the task. “Will you be at the art school today?”

Kyungsoo had slid the longer end inside the slot and pulled gently, creating a perfect Windsor knot. He’d patted on his alpha’s chest and thought he looked a little too serious just then. “I’m going there after breakfast.”

“I’ll make Jongin oversee things in the meantime.” Chanyeol’s forehead had crumpled, his frown deepening. “There’s a lot of construction going on. I don’t want you coming over until it’s completely safe.”

Kyungsoo had opened his mouth to protest, only Chanyeol pressed his right forefinger on it.

“Please trust me on this, jagiya.” Then he replaced that finger with a surprisingly ardent yet abrupt kiss. “I have to go.”

Thankfully, Kyungsoo had regained his composure just before Chanyeol disappeared through the backdoor leading to the garage. “I’ll see you at the wedding planner’s at 4!”

His alpha had replied, but Kyungsoo didn’t hear what he could’ve possibly said.

Kyungsoo couldn’t take this. Chanyeol wasn’t answering any of his messages or his calls!

Too busy at work that he hadn’t even bothered to check his phone?

What if… he was unable to?

Kyungsoo’s mouth turned dry as several frightening scenarios flashed in his head all at once—a roadside accident that had his alpha’s wheels skidding down the streets and hitting… a tree? A truck? A bulldozer?

Was Chanyeol in a hospital, being operated on right now?

The tips of his fingers grew even colder. What if Chanyeol was on his way to the parking area, and suddenly some thugs ganged up on him to steal his wallet, phone, keys, car…?

Or…

His eyes blazed, as a more absurd possib