[storytime]

Crescent
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Mingi and Yeosang's faces are illuminated by the multiple screens in front of them, each screen accommodating different details for them to start searching for any clues regarding Lee Mikyung. The first camera that Mingi thought of going through is from the surveillance nearest to the park, which are the cameras located near the traffic light at the large intersection just beside the area and the row of shops across the street.

He pulls out the map of the immediate vicinity, letting Hongjoong point out any possible routes of escape for anyone who decided to kidnap her, going with two choices: her kidnappers only decided to show up after she had arrived at the park, or her kidnappers had decided to tail her as she went out of the kindergarten. The first choice seems unlikely, as her kidnappers would find it hard to suddenly spring into action without having a proper plan beforehand.

Which brings them to the next question: just a random target or a planned one?

"If you see from the cameras from the traffic lights; the traffic is quite packed since it's noon and people are going out for lunch, including all the factory workers around here. A lot of buses... cars... A bit hard to point out any car that seems weird. If they're really smart, they would use a type of car that wouldn't stand out. We also don't have any cameras that could reach the span of the park, and she could have been snatched from the swings where you found her phone, but even then we find no evidence of it." Mingi taps on every screen trying to point out anything, but finds no leads.

"I really wish that I could say it's just a simple thing but this has been eating me away ever since I found her phone on the floor." Wooyoung runs his hand through his hair, cracking his neck to the side as he thinks of some other way to tackle it.

"Unless you want to just... break into her phone without any permission..." Yeosang lays it out as he shakes the phone in his hand. "Emergency situations call for drastic measures."

"We can't do that first," Wooyoung replies. "Unless we can confirm that she was taken away without her permission."

"Right, forgot you're a gentleman who follows the protocol," his friend replies as he puts the phone down. "Next solution."

"Unless," Hongjoong whips out his own phone as he dials a number. He puts it on loudspeaker and places the phone on the table, with the four men crowding around it as they hear the dial tone. They look at the name of the person he's calling and listens to the dial tone.

It takes a while for the other person to answer, and Mingi muses as an upbeat song about heartbreak fills in the screen, "So... it has been a few days since she got her new phone and she's already customizing her dial tone. I love the way she arranges her priorities."

"Hello?" The line clicks and the person on the other line breathes into the receiver. "Mr. strawberry why are you calling me when we're in the same house, or did you go out?"

Yeosang snorts at 'strawberry' before turning serious again.

"Aurora," Hongjoong says, and there is a silence as she hears her codename, finally realizing that the situation must have been pretty serious for him to be using it, even though he's only calling through his phone. "Are you with Hwayoung?"

"Yeah, she's beside me," she says followed by a "Hi Uncle Hongjoong, I'm colouring in my book!" from Hwayoung.

"Can you put the phone on loud speaker so that Hwayoung can hear us too?"

"Sure."

"That's amazing, Hwayoung," Yeosang butts in, and they can't help but smile as they imagine her holding the pencil colour with her tiny hand and filling in the space bordered by the lines. "You must show it to me when you're done, okay?"

"Okay, Uncle Yeosang!" The scratches of the tip of her colour pencil fills in the expanse of the dark room.

"Hwayoung, can I ask you some questions? If you manage to get everything correct, I'll give you chocolate, okay?"

"Will they be hard questions?"

"Knowing how smart our Hwayoung is, I don't think it will be hard."

"Okay! What are the questions?" The sound of her colouring stops, and they imagine her clasping her hands as she waits eagerly over the phone.

"Hwayoung, can you describe in detail the route you took with Ms. Lee when she sent you home just now? From your kindergarten all the way to the cafe. You can take your time and describe everything that you saw or heard."

They wait in anticipation around the phone, the sound of the kid's breathing and murmuring filling in the room. "When kindergarten is over, Ms. Lee told me that she would like to send me home so she called dad."

Hongjoong nods to confirm it.

"When dad gives her the permission, she asked me whether I would mind and when I said no she asked me to wait for a while as she took her bag. It was only for a few seconds before she came out again and held my hand."

"Did your teacher talk with anyone during that time before going out of the kindergarten? Anyone you don't know?"

"She talked to my other teacher; Mrs. Rai, saying that she's leaving the kindergarten and said goodbyes to my friends. All of them went home with their parents. We walked through the usual road dad goes, where there are the washing machines that only work if you put the special coins in."

Hongjoong gestures towards Mingi to bring out the map of their neighbourhood, and he marks an 'X' over Hwayoung's kindergarten and pulls out the cameras near there. Nothing suspicious is spotted, and they know which 'washing machines' the kid is referring to - the self-service laundry located near her kindergarten.

"We walk down the road with the hill, but it was less tiring because we're going down instead of up. We passed by a few older brothers and sisters eating outside the convenience store." She pauses as she thinks, "Uncles, do you think that dad will let me eat with my friends outside like that when I grow up?"

"If you promise to go back home on time, I don't see why your dad won't let you," Wooyoung offers. "If he doesn't let you socialize I'll make him do."

Mingi takes out the image of the cameras there, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Still nothing. Whatever Hwayoung is describing fits perfectly with the rolling images on the camera, and they hope that they will finally catch another clue of who it could have been.

Hwayoung giggles with delight before she continues. "Then we passed by Grandma June's house, where Popo is waiting. Grandma June is outside in her yard, feeding Popo. But I think Popo is sick today because he doesn't jump around a lot like he always does."

She's referring to the 5-year-old golden retriever that she always passes by and pets as the friendly grandma lets her door open for Hwayoung to come in. It's a tradition every time she passes by, and it seems that even the dog knows what to expect on a weekday around noon because it will wait by the door and barks excitedly when Hwayoung comes.

"Uncles, do you think that dad looks like a golden retriever? Grandma June always says so but dad laughs, saying that he doesn't look like the dog at all, but I think he does."

"He does, Hwayoung! Your dad just doesn't want to admit it," Mingi supplements as he taps on another camera view. In perfect harmonization with her story, they see the dog coming to the gate at the grandma's house, but his energy does seem a little bit decreased. She pets it nonetheless as both her and Ms. Lee bow to Grandma June before setting off again.

But still, no clues to whom it could be.

"Then we went in front of the shops where there are spiders and rats!" she animates, her voice dancing around as she describes it. "The windows are dirty and broken, and it's smelly." She pinches her nose.

The row of abandoned shophouses, so no cameras near

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Comments

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Magbuull5245 #1
Chapter 70: By far the best book I have read. Laughing, crying, deep thinking. Just amazing!
jeongsclown
#2
Chapter 3: LMFAO THEY'RE SO CHAOTIC I LOVE IT
Manna-chan #3
Chapter 70: This story is amazing! You are so talented, the flow of the story, the way you managed to tell about all of them without it seeming forced or weird. I love it, thank you for making me smile, cry, smile again and cry happy tears at the end. Thank you for sharing this story with us <'333
WiltedStar
#4
Chapter 1: You're such a great writer.
Jade_Flower #5
Chapter 70: Loved it!!
TaeTae_wife
#6
Chapter 70: I so love your story! It's the fist Ateez story that I read and it's WOW!
Congratulations!!!! <3
MsPinKai
#7
Chapter 70: THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME SHED HAPPY TEARS ??? this was EVERYTHING!!!! One of the best written stories & plotline ever! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Animeakume
#8
Chapter 70: prepared my heart for a tragic ending but tHANK GOD ??? shed happy tears instead but it’s all worth it

i love this whole story so much! defs one of my go tos for rereading <3 thank you so much for this amazing story
Animeakume
#9
Chapter 57: i cracked and bawled my eyes out when yunho and byul repeated that they said back then as trainees ??? the whole “Dont you wish everything here is an illusion” “us, being here?” “No you idiot” back and forth conversation ohmyheart
MsPinKai
#10
Chapter 51: just when I was already believing that she 's not eunbi.......OH. MY. GOD.