Now and for the Last Time

17 장

"Interloper at ten o'clock," I said to Sehun. "Want this one?"

"Sure," he replied, moving over to intercept an older man making a beeline for the buffet despite our repeated reminders that we'd going by tables. My mom hated the long snaky line of hungry guests, but there were always the few who tried to avoid the system. I watched, somewhat proud, as he politely redirected the man to his seat. When he flashed me a thumbs-up, I only nodded.

Two hours into the event, I had to admit my mom had, again, been right. He was a fast learner, with the charm that bugged me actually being an asset at times like this. If you're going to come between someone bold enough to jump the line and the prime rib, you have to do it with a light touch, and Sehun had that charm. So I'd let him do the heavy lifting while I kept the lines of people who were actually supposed to be eating moving smoothly. Half the room down, half to go. This was me being optimistic, I realized, taking note of it for once. And just like that, the universe noticed as well.

"Excuse me." I turned to see a woman in a purple dress approaching, a child with pigtails on her hip. She was thin and angular, with black-framed glasses you just knew cost a fortune. "Have you seen my son? He's the ring bearer?"

"Vivi?" I asked. She nodded, switching her daughter to her other side. "I haven't seen him since the wedding party came in."

She turned. "I thought he was with his cousins, over there at the kids' table, but they haven't seen him either. Where is he?"

I scanned the room: no sign of a kid in a tight-fitting suit. "Let me check the lobby. Maybe he went to the restroom?"

"Not my himself," she replied, gesturing to what I assumed was her husband, a blond guy at the nearby bar. Now, she mouthed, and he walked over.

"People are hungry," Sehun said as he walked back up to me. "I just almost came fist fighting with a woman. She was holding a plate and prepared to use it."

"Hey, have you seen Vivi?"

"Little dude?" I nodded. "No. Why?"

"He may be missing." I said in a low voice: the last thing we needed was unnecessary panic. "I'm going to check the lobby. You take outside."

"Vivi!" the mother yelled. So much for staying calm. "Has anyone seen my son?"

I walked quickly to the lobby, Sehun right behind me. As I turned to a nearby hallway, he headed for the outside doors. Older couple, group of teens probably up to no good, staff member pushing a cart. No Vivi. Outside the men's bathroom, I knocked, hard, then pushed open the door. "Vivi? Are you in there?"

"Who?" Someone yelled back.

"A kid in a suit. Do you see him?"

A pause. "Nope. Just me, as far as I can tell."

I let the door close, then pulled out my phone. RING BEARER MISSING, I texted my mom and Wooyoung. IN LOBBY LOOKING. Then I headed back toward the ballroom, scanning around me as I went. Outside, I could see Sehun in the parking lot, his hands cupped to his mouth.

"Vivi!" I recognized Wooyoung's voice before I took a corner, almost crashing into him. He said, "Definitely not in the ballroom. Soojung's starting to freak."

"Ballroom's clear. I'll go help Sehun outside."

"Your mom's looking in the kitchen. I'll ask the desk and do another pass through here."

We took off, neither of us running. Yet. As I pushed open the heavy doors to the parking lot, I could hear Sehun. "Vivi. Buddy! You out there?" Somewhere, a dog barked.