The following morning was a mess; the boys tried to gobble down some breakfast, before they were being rushed by the driver to the university with their finally dried bags and belongings. They helped Soobin get to his room, trying to ignore the questions and glances from the other students – they were clearly curious about what happened to the group.

“Soobin!” The door opened with Daehwi standing in shock. He helped the other get inside, before giving all of them glasses of water. “What happened?!? D-Does this have anything to do with Dongho bridge? A-And where’s Kai? There were circulars all over campus about Kai being missing, but that can’t be true, right?”

“Yeah, we basically almost died and we lost Kai. He’s actually missing. The police are investigating it though. Uh… We don’t wanna talk about it much.”, Beomgyu said as he kept his empty glass on the table nearby.

“W-What the hell? So Kai’s actually gone?”

“Yes, but he’ll be back. He will.” Taehyun blurted out with a hint of rage, keeping his eyes fixed to the floor or else Daehwi would’ve been frightened by the other’s furious look. “We’ll be leaving now. Soobin-hyung, call us if you need anything and- . Our phones.”

“Let’s go to a nearby store and buy ourselves some phones after class, okay? Soo, take care of yourself. I’ll come over when you have to attend that one class. Your test’s in two hours, right? I’ll be free then.”, Yeonjun added as he ruffled Soobin’s hair, a soft smile on his lips.

“Okay. Thank you, guys. Get going now.” Soobin watched as the others left with Daehwi; he let out a sigh before pressing his fingers against his cheeks, pulling them down in frustration. “ everything!”, he screamed as he shut his eyes forcefully. He looked at his leg covered in a tough cast; it was still difficult for him to believe and accept the fact that all of this actually happened to him and his friends.

“If Kai’s phone is ringing, he’s not in the water. But he isn’t picking up. What could this mean? , the police better figure something out and find him. Oh, Kai, where are you?” He waited, and he would wait – because Kai had to return, he had to.

There was a common hour when none of them had any classes; Soobin left his room with his crutches supporting him along, wondering to himself if he aced that test an hour ago or not. He walked through the hallway, forcing a smile at the inquisitive looks from the other students, some who even offered to help but he had to refuse; he wasn’t one to accept help from just anyone.

“Yeonjun-hyung!”, he called out as he spotted the other in the middle of several students at the centre of the field outside his dormitory building. He stopped walking, getting annoyed at the sound of the crutches grazing against the grass. He smiled as Yeonjun ran over at the speed of light.

“Soo, are you okay?”, Yeonjun started off. “If this was any other day, I would honestly hit you right now because you just ruined my only chance at talking to Yeji, but today’s different. You’re already… Well, yeah. And Kai. Kai would be with you, but he isn’t, is he?”

“He will be. Soon.”, Soobin paused and let his eyes search the area for Yeji – the name that Yeonjun seemed so fascinated by these few days. “Hwang Yeji, is it? Do you like her? Have you ever talked to her before?”

“That’s the point! I want to talk to her and get to know her before I pop the question, you know? Anyways, how’s your leg? I mean, I’ve never been in a cast before. Can you feel any change?”

“Honestly, no. I don’t feel anything different than yesterday. Umm… Hwang Yeji is the one? I mean, she seems nice. Are you really going to ask her out when our Kai’s missing? It almost seems like you’re not worried at all…” Soobin was taking a risk with his words, but Mr. Choi’s words from the other day were booming in his ears like a merciless reminder.

“Oh.” Yeonjun halted his steps, looking away for a second. He in a deep breath before looking back at the other. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Yeji can wait. Everything can wait. Kai’s our priority right now.”

Soobin could do nothing but nod; he felt extremely guilty for trying to make Yeonjun feel bad, and he couldn’t handle any guilt over the already rising level of sorrow. It was a weird feeling of emptiness, grief and guilt all mixed together, but he felt miserable nonetheless. Before he could withdraw his previous statement and apologise for attempting to control Yeonjun’s actions, he noticed Taehyun and Beomgyu rushing towards them at a rapid pace.

“Guys!”, Taehyun started off, bending over with his hands on his knees, panting heavily.

Beomgyu did the same but he glanced upwards and nodded. “, we can’t live without our phones. We would’ve called otherwise!” He slowly straightened up as he regained his breath and his posture. Clearing his throat, he said: “Taehyun was talking to Kai’s mother using the telephone at the reception of our building, and apparently, the police reported b-back! Kai’s not in any of the hospitals in Seoul, and the police checked the security camera footage and