Joohoon jerked awake, grabbing his phone first, looking if there were any calls back and checking the time. No calls, not from him and for the time, it didn't even pass 15 minutes. His eyes quivered at the screen that showed just his endless calls and none from Jiwook.
He squeezed his eyes back, his shoulders sunk down, his heart still beating ragingly after the terrible nightmare he just had. Even in that short slip of time he managed to dream of Jiwook, though he didn't remember anything from it, only the echo of a tearing heart-breaking scream rang in his ears for a moment longer, before it vanished completely.
Joohoon didn't feel that helpless since he was a child, unable to do anything and just watching his mother's suffering and eventually her death. Maybe that's why more than anyone he hated that feeling and was all the more scared of it.
Helpless. Powerless.
Unable to change anything. To protect whom he wanted.
- Jiwook where are you...
He whispered quietly, his voice too weak and broken even for him to recognize.
There were 11 hours since he noticed the younger was missing and if he was to count the time, Jiwook didn't reply to his texts, it was more than 17. He went to the police only to find that Jiwook's parents left a report for a while now and judging the police's "rush" to work on Jiwook's case then and now, Joohoon left to search for him himself, not wanting to lose even a minute without doing something. Anything.
Joohee and Taehoon, as well as all the bunch of people that he could order around, them and their friends and other connections, all were searching the whole town for Jiwook. Sooner or later he must find something. At least one trace.
The fact that hours after putting so many people to search and yet no news from Jiwook was itself a clue. A bad sign nonetheless. A person couldn't just vanish in air like that and from his understanding of how things worked, it resembled awfully suspicious to a kidnapping.
And it filled him with dread.
He was on his way to Min Siwoon's apartment, where Han Siwon was as well. From their short talk on the phone, which Siwoon was not so eager to take, he found out that Jiwook met with his brother three days ago. Except for that, nothing out of ordinary happened and Jiwook wasn't out either.
Han Siwon opened the door to him, taken aback at the wrenched sight Joohoon was in and furrowed his brows in visible uneasiness. If Joohoon looked like that, then it must be pretty serious.
He cut short all what was there to tell about the missing Jiwook and asked straightforwardly Han Siwon if something happened at their meeting.
- He felt a little... I don't know, like he changed. He apologized. We didn't talk much. I said him to call his parents and left.
- Did he mention something?
- There was that incident... I mean I was careless and ate something I was allergic at and he stopped me. That's all.
Min Siwoon lifted a brow at him, his expression in utter stupor hearing that story, silently storming at him why he didn't know about that.
In that moment Joohoon's phone rang and he replied quickly.
- Boss, there was someone from X-district school that knows Han Siwon and said he saw him at the crossroad of X-Station yesterday around 4pm.
- What? I asked to search for Han Jiwook.
- Yeah, boss. He just said Han Siwon had to stay in school and then he saw him at the other side of the city. And dressed differently too. He found it strange.
Joohoon's eyebrows knotted in confusion, he turned to Han Siwon before him and asked directly.
- Were you at the X-Station at 4pm yesterday?
- What? No. I was in school. Why?
Joohoon didn't answer and continued to talk over the phone.
- Are you sure it was Han Siwon?
- He says yeah. It was him. Black hair, blue eyes. Slender, handsome face. Even the boring hairstyle was his. He's pretty sure.
"What does that all mean?"
Joohoon was puzzled with the given information. If it wasn't Han Siwon, then it couldn't be someone other than Jiwook. But why with that appearance? Why looking like his brother? His stomach twitched, a dreadful feeling settled down inside.
- Take more guys and search thorough all the area, look into every store, every building, ask everyone that lives or works there... Wait, I'll send you another picture.
He then asked Siwon.
- Do you have of picture of yourself? Send me one.
- Huh? Why-
He shut himself up meeting Joohoon's unnerving stare, though it didn't feel menacing, but it left no room for any further dispute. So he did just that, took his phone and sent it, Min Siwoon giving him the number. Joohoon got it and resent it.
- Did you get it? From now on look for him using that photo.
He finished his call and addressed Han Siwon the question that was biting his brains in search of an answer for it.
- Why is Jiwook looking like you? He changed his hair black. The hairstyle is just like yours. Why?!
Though Joohoon asked him, Han Siwon had no idea. It sounded ridiculous to begin with. Jiwook hated his brother and anything that resembled him, so why did he made himself look like him? He was just as lost as Joohoon.
- Again. Think again. What did Jiwook say or what did you say.
Joohoon's voice was calm but so cold that it sent chills down the other spine, even Min Siwoon shifted.
- Dammit! I tell you he apologized. God knows what got into him he apologized and cried. He was a mess. I sent him to wash his face. When he got back, he stopped me from eating that damn cake. I went to the bathroom and threw everything up. When I came back, I told him to call his parents. He was mumbling something about coming home if he'll be allowed. I don't know what run through his head at that time... Ah exactly, he asked..., he hesitated a bit looking at Min Siwoon, as if not sure if he should mention that, but yeah damn it all, Joohoon knew everything about them already - he asked if everything is fine with me and Siwoon.
- Why did he ask that?
- I don't know. I thought he wanted something from Siwoon again and-
Han Siwon shut himself before he'd drop the bomb, seeing Joohoon's murderous glare, he flinched and cleared his throat. Okay he went a bit ahead of himself here.
- I mean... wait does he even know that we're together?
This time it was Min Siwoon that answered him.
- No. He couldn't know about that.
- When how did he find out?
Joohoon was positive Jiwook didn't know, at least before his meeting with his brother. Something wasn't right. In effect he was always at his place, he had no contact with anyone that might know that sort of information. So how the hell did he found that out?
If no one would tell him that information, when, must probably, he found it out for himself. How?
- Did you have something with you to reveal that? Did Jiwook see anything?
- What no! Of course not, I was always with-
...
- Shit. He did. My phone. I think I left it on the table.
He hurriedly looked through his phone if there was something to give them away. Joohoon thought for a moment, that explains how he learned about their relationship, but not his question. He sounded his question out loud.
- Why did he ask you if everything is fine between you? Are you not supposed to be?
- What? No, everything is just fine. And it was fine before too. There's nothing in my phone to make him to think that. It doesn't make sense.
Now it was Min Siwoon that break in.
- There is nothing... but it could have been. He might have erased it.
His reasoning was logical and very plausible given the situation. He took the phone and started to run some sort of a backup app and slid through the erased files on it.
Surprisingly they found messages from an unknown number that Han Siwon saw for the first time and the time it was sent was exactly when he met Jiwook.
They opened it and their expression darkened, shock and bewilderment on it.
- What the hell is this?, Han Siwon said, his voice suddenly faint.
Joohoon came closer and took the phone, to see for himself.
["
Unknown: "You little sh*t you better answer if you want to keep standing on your own two legs. Break up with Min Siwoon or you'll regret it. Try to ignore another call and we'll meet at your home next time."
"]
His eyes stopped at the photo with the dagger on it and then he understood.
His worst fears turned out to be real.
The screen of the phone snapped, making the other two flinch at the sudden noise, Han Siwon took a step back instinctively and Siwoon hid right away the younger behind him taking a stand ready to fight, his fists tightened, all his senses alarmed, so did Han Siwon too.
Shards of the glass cut through skin and pierced flesh, with a crouching sound, blood rose and drops started falling down to the floor. The whole hand together with the phone that looked now like a crumbled piece of junk, was dyed dark red with fresh blood and absolutely no sound, not a slight movement beyond that followed. The air itself dropped a few degrees lower.
It felt horrendous.
Joohoon's expression was impossible to read, even hard to see, it looked darker and felt colder than the death itself. His presence became so rigid and unyielding that the world could collapse right that moment, and Joohoon would not move an inch. Tremendous force was released through his presence alone, a mute rage that screamed louder than the loudest of thunders, spread around him like a silent fury.
It was a disaster in human form and nothing, not even God himself, would save the ones that would fall its prey.