Sehun adjusts the towel around his waist after he steps out of the bathroom, right before the freezing cold air can knock him off his feet. After fetching himself a clean shirt, he slides into his desk chair and opens his laptop. His reports are all already finished and ready to be handed in, but at this point, he’d willingly wipe all of them from his hard drive and retype every single one just to distract himself. 

As the cold air hits his bare chest, Sehun's eyes drift to the sole unread email at the top of his inbox.

Today, 10:54 A.M

From: Jongdae, Kim

Subject: dfkjgdlskldjg

Yo, just letting you know that Taemin took care of the statistics reports instead of Minseok…its nice to have a rookie around sometimes isn’t it x))))

Btw, jongin looked like a train wreck when i talked to him, did something happen or what????? hmu lol

Kind regards,

Kim Jongdae

Dep. Sales

Sehun runs a hand through his hair, only to regret it when damp water droplets fly everywhere. He has no idea why Jongdae didn’t just choose to talk to him about it personally, given that their cubicles are within a six foot distance from each other. But then again, it is Jongdae they're talking about.

With his leg bouncing up and down, Sehun finds himself staring at the two sentences while he racks his brain for a response. Except he has to close his emails when he worries that his chest might explode.

A sudden noise nearly has Sehun falling off his chair in surprise. To his frustration, he remembers that he left his phone in the pocket of his dress pants, which he left on the bathroom floor. However, his attention is quickly drawn to his work phone on his desk. Sehun sort of fears that it might be his boss waiting to rat him out, even though he knows that he hasn't done anything wrong.

To Sehun’s surprise, an unknown number greets him. Despite his strange unwillingness to respond to numbers he doesn’t recognize, he finds himself swiping right, anyway. 

”Oh Sehun,” he mumbles in the most professional tone he can muster. Although he doubts that it sounds even remotely convincing.

At first, Sehun doesn’t hear a thing, which only confirms his assumption of his mystery caller dialing the wrong number. However, it’s not until he presses his phone closer to his ear that he thinks he can make out a low noise. It sounds raspy, almost like an animal struggling to breathe underwater, and Sehun gives up on trying to make conversation when he asks who it is, only to get no response. Even though Sehun knows that it’s his own irritation getting the better of him, dealing with prank callers is the very last thing on his to-do list right now. He hangs up before he tosses his phone back on his desk. 

Sehun nearly cries in frustration when he attempts to focus on Jongdae’s email again, only for his phone to ring half a minute later.

”I don’t have the time for this right now,” Sehun huffs after picking up, fully expecting to be met with the same silence as before (or even worse, his boss' voice). ”What do you want?”

For a second, there’s nothing but static, and Sehun is milliseconds away from hanging up again when a soft voice comes through on the other end.

”Remember how you said I could call if I wanted to talk and stuff?” it quietly says.

Sehun flies into an upright position. As much as he wants to slap himself for yelling in Jungah’s face, he loses the thought when he opens his mouth to speak. 

”Sorry about that,” Sehun says and clears his throat. ”I remember, did something happen?” He tries ignoring the stirring in his gut when he’s met with silence again. ”Are you alright?”

Jungah chuckle echoes on the other end. ”I’m fine,” she hums. ”I’m just bored and was wondering if you could tell me a story or something.”

Sehun blinks as he runs a hand through his hair. ”Your grandmother can’t be that bad of a storyteller, can she?” he chuckles. 

Jungah is silent for a minute. ”I’m in Dad’s room right now,” she says. ”Nana said I had to head straight home after school to talk to Dad but he wasn’t here.” She sighs. ”I wanted you to come over so that we could make paper cranes but Nana said she doesn’t want you at our house anymore, so I don't know what to do.”

Sehun’s eyes drift to his watch. Ten minutes to midnight. ”You’re alone at home? Right now?” he squawks even though he already knows the answer.

Jungah hums under her breath. ”Yeah,” she sing-songs. ”I made myself some cereal and watched a little bit of TV, but it’s getting kind of boring.” A loud clap of thunder is heard in the background, but she doesn’t seem to mind. ”Do you know where Dad is? Is he with you?”

Sehun can barely hear the rest of Jungah’s words, since he’s busy attempting to finagle his jeans on while simultaneously keeping his phone by his ear. He manages to slide a newly washed hoodie over his head while she goes on to talk about the show she watched after coming home from school earlier. He’s definitely put it on backwards, but he pays it no mind as he flies back to his desk.

Trying to find his car keys amid the mess, Sehun tries his best to hold back an irritated growl. It takes him every fiber in his being not to tell Jungah that he knows darn good and well where Jongin is. In fact, Sehun almost misses his car keys sitting in plain view when his chest swells in frustration.

”He’s not with me,” Sehun says after entering the bathroom. He rummages through the pockets of his dress pants until he locates his cell phone. ”Listen, could you hold on for just a minute? I’ll talk to you in just a bit, so don’t hang up, alright?”

Jungah mumbles something along the lines of ’Okay’ under her breath. ”Fine, I’ll wait, but I hate waiting too long, so make it quick.”

After muting their call, Sehun unlocks the phone in his other hand. It doesn’t take him long to find the address he’s looking for, and he’s dialing the first phone number he sees less than a minute later.

Somebody picks up after the first ring. All that can be heard is an incoherent racket combined with trashy pop music that nearly makes Sehun’s ears bleed. At least he’s got the right place. 

”We don’t do orders over the phone,” a loud voice says straight into the receiver. ”You’ll have to-”

”Who am I speaking to?” Sehun breathes, trying to ignore his undried hair in the mirror.

For a second, there’s nothing but silence. ”Kim Junmyeon,” the voice says after a few moments. ”And I could ask you the same thing.”

”Listen, this is gonna sound strange, but I’m gonna describe someone right now, and I want you to tell me if they’re there or not,” Sehun says all in one breath, nearly dropping his phone when a clap of lightning strikes not far from the house.

”You’re off your damn rocker,” Junmyeon responds, all while a few women can be heard screeching for his attention. ”I can guarantee that there’s at least a thousand of ’em in here, so no use in trying.”

Sehun swallows his irritation. ”Fine, but I’m gonna do it anyway,” he says before Junmyeon can hang up on him. ”I’m looking for a guy who’s around six feet, has brown hair and always wears a long, black coat, can you see him anywhere?”

Junmyeon emits a loud sigh of exasperation. ”Son, you’re gonna have to try harder than that,” he yells over the music. 

Sehun sighs. He just hopes that Junmyeon can hear him despite all the noise. ”I was there with him last week. He was sitting way up front, with like, a hundred glasses,” he adds. ”And I’m not sure, but I think he tends to sit alone most of the time.”

Junmyeon falls so silent that Sehun wonders if he’s hung up on him. ”Ah, him,” he chuckles after a minute. ”The cute one, I take it? You a friend or what?”

Sehun swallows. ”I’m not so sure anymore,” he says, but he doubts that Junmyeon can hear him. ”Listen, I just wanted to…I mean, could you tell him to-”

”Are you Sehun, by any chance?” Junmyeon interrupts, not even waiting for a response before continuing. ”He spent a good minute bawling your name last night ’til my boys had to throw him out onto the streets for causing such a ruckus, it was actually kind of sad.” He clears his throat. ”Anyway, his seat’s empty, so if he’s planning on coming in anytime soon, it’s all his.”

Sehun hangs up the phone before Junmyeon can continue, while simultaneously scrambling for his work phone. To his dismay, he’s kept Jungah waiting for nearly ten minutes, and he just hopes that she hasn’t ditched him when he unmutes their call. 

”Hey, it’s me again," he says, "please tell me you’re still-”

”I'm here,” Jungah chirps, almost like no time has passed at all. ”Did you find Dad anywhere?”

Sehun bites back a sigh. ”Listen, I’m coming over if that’s-”

”But Nana said you’re not allowed to-”

”I was thinking you could stay at my place,” Sehun says before he can stop himself. He flies into his bedroom and grabs his car keys, and he’s about to head down the stairs when Jungah squawks in protest.

”No way, I’m staying right here,” Jungah retorts. ”I don’t need to stay with you, I’m waiting for Dad to come home.”

”Jungah, it’s past midnight and storming outside,” Sehun says a little more harshly than he'd intended. ”I don’t think it’s a good idea, really.” He bites his lip. ”I mean, isn’t it scary being all by yourself like this?”

Jungah sighs. ”Dad always comes home late, you know,” she huffs. ”He’s been sad lately so I want to be here when he comes home to cheer him up. He’s scared of storms, remember?” She’s silent for a moment. ”I want him to come home so I can apologize to him.”

Sehun blinks, hand hovering above the handrail. ”What do you mean?”

”When I said that I wished you were my dad instead of him,” Jungah whispers, voice wavering. "Do you think he's angry with me and doesn't want to talk to me again?"

"Of course he isn't," Sehun interjects. "And I think it'd be best if you stayed with me, or if I stayed with you for just a little while." 

It’s not until Jungah goes on to assure him that she’s perfectly fine that Sehun hears himself sigh in exasperation. He looks out the darkened windows, only to be met with his own reflection staring back at him. 

”Jungah, I want you to listen to me for a second,” Sehun says after a minute of silence. ”I don’t know how to say this, but your father isn’t feeling too well, and when people aren’t feeling good, they sometimes do things they shouldn’t.” He exhales. ”Are you with me so far?”

Jungah huffs. ”I think so, but what does that have to do with Dad?”

Sehun swallows. ”Jungah, there’s a chance that your father might not be coming home at all tonight, or at least not until very, very late,” he says. ”And if he does, I’d rather you didn’t stay with him. It’s-”

”You’re talking bull right now,” Jungah hisses and Sehun doesn’t even need to ask to know who she’s learned that word from. ”He’s still my dad and he loves me, so I’m gonna wait for him even if you don’t want me to.” 

”I know that, but-”

”You said you don’t have any children, so you don’t know anything,” Jungah retorts, her high-pitched voice cracking at the last word. ”You shouldn’t have said anything to Nana, now Dad probably doesn’t want to come back anymore. That must be why he still isn't here, right???"

Sehun bites the inside of his cheek. He reminisces the guilt that flooded him when he dropped Jungah off at her grandmother’s house last night, seconds before he went on to inform her about Jongin’s antics when Jungah was unable to utter a word in her shaken state. It still makes Sehun's gut churn just thinking about it, and he has to shove Jongin's mother's horrified expression out of his head before he can scream out loud. It was almost like she couldn’t fathom a word she was hearing about her own son, and Sehun wishes that he could have felt the same way.

”Jungah, I’m sure he wants to come back,” Sehun says after in worry of Jungah hanging up the phone. ”It’s just that-”

”Why aren’t you trying to find him?” Jungah interrupts in a voice much too powerful for her tiny self. ”You said you were his friend!”

Sehun tries controlling his spinning head. ”I tried looking, I tried helping, but...” He audibly curses. ”Look, I don't know how to say this, but I don’t think your father and I can be friends, at least not right now.”

All that can be heard is Jungah’s frantic breaths before she speaks. ”But you haven’t helped if he’s still feeling like this,” she wails. ”You just ruined everything, this is your fault!" A sob leaves her lips. ”I don’t want you to pick me up, I’ll wait for Dad by myself.”

Sehun doesn’t get a chance to respond before the line promptly cuts off. As much as he wants to sit down before his knees can give in, he finds himself shoving his phone back in his pocket before making his way downstairs and to the fridge. The winds are blowing even harder than they were just five minutes ago, and Sehun hopes they won’t take the roof with it as he locates the green bottle on the top shelf, neatly tucked away and covered in tinfoil.

The sour wine is so cold that it instantly numbs his tastebuds, and Sehun can physically feel his mind blanking out as he leans against the counter and swallows.