This night in particular had Soobin feeling anxious as he finished his homework behind the counter. Perhaps it was the police cruiser that drove by the store slowly. Maybe it was the fog that loomed over the town that day. Or maybe it was the fact that it had been a month since he had seen you at all.
He'd felt it was appropriate to visit your house and ask if you were okay, but no one even answered the door, despite him hearing evident voices on the inside. He'd also seen it fit to try and find any of your social media accounts after asking teachers for your surname. He'd found them all, but your Instagram had been blacked out, your name being the only thing left for him to identify you with. Your pictures were all deleted, if they were even there to begin with. He looked for a Twitter account, but the same held true for that. The only difference was that a single tweet was left from what possibly could've been the deletion of your account. It was a single re-tweet of little relevance from a while back. It was a single picture of a beautiful landscape and whilst Soobin could appreciate the beauty of the picture, it wasn't important. He'd even gone as far as downloading Facebook to find you, but it seemed as if you'd been taken off the grid.
It took a lot for him to give up. He'd looked for your TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and every other social media in between, but he had no luck finding you. It lingered on his mind even now after such a long time.
He scribbled on his paper as his mind raced, the anxious feeling growing. He felt chills go up his arms and he couldn't help but feel the need to check in with Taehyun. He bit the inside of his cheek. He picked up his work phone and put in Taehyun's phone number, knowing he would probably be waking Taehyun up.
"Hyung?" Taehyun rasped, the traces of sleep still evident on his voice. "Is something wrong?"
"You're okay?" He asked, almost left breathless from his pounding heart.
"Of course Hyung. I was sleeping," Taehyun told him, now seeming awake. He could hear Taehyuns voice bubble up in the back of his throat involuntarily as he stretched his muscles.
"Good," Soobin breathed out in relief, and though he had found out that Taehyun was okay, it still didn't ease the anxiety that made the hairs on his arms stand up.
"Is something wrong Hyung?" Taehyun asked. Soobin could practically hear Taehyuns eyebrows knitting together in confusion and concern.
"No, it's-"
He got no time to finish before the door opened, the little chimes that hung on the door notifying him that someone was there. He let the phone fall from his ear haphazardly, as he looked up to greet the customer.
"Long time no see," you voiced as you stepped into the convenience store. You were out of breath and you felt shaky and weak. You gave Soobin a sure smile as you stood in front of the door.
The phone fell from Soobin's hand, making a small clatter as it fell to the counter in front of him.
"Are you alright?"
That was the first thing Soobin thought to ask. You liked to think you didn't look to haggard, but the lack of sun and a proper diet had probably left your skin lacking vibrance and it most definitely dulled your complexion.
"A little on the weak side, but alive nonetheless," you answered with a sure smile.
Soobin had stepped out from the counter at this point and rather than stopping just in front of you, as you assumed he would, he continued to come closer and he placed his hands on your shoulders firmly.
"What happened?" He asked, his eyes staring deep into your soul. There was almost a desperation in his gaze. A need to know why you'd disappeared.
"It's a family issue," you brushed aside, bringing your hands to rest on his.
"No way. I'm not letting you get away with that. We're friends, aren't we?" He asked, his grip on your shoulders tightening in a way that made you feel missed. "You can tell me," he finished, his eyes never once leaving yours despite how your gaze cowered every few seconds.
"Hyung!"
You turned to the door, Soobins grip releasing as his gaze whipped up to see Taehyun in the door, followed by an extremely disheveled, half asleep Yeonjun, HueningKai, and Beomgyu. All four of them looked as if their sleep had been disturbed, yet they all seemed more aware than ever. They were all in their pyjamas and none of them wore footwear of any kind. Their eyes squinted at the harsh light.
When Taehyun entered, he let out a breath of relief as he saw Soobin was okay. He hadn't known what to make of the situation. A phone call in the middle of the night from Soobin asking if he was okay, and then when Taehyun asked Soobin what was wrong, all he received was a cut off sentence, the door chimes, and the clatter of the phone falling. In his panic, he called Beomgyu, Yeonjun, and HueningKai to come with him, knowing if there was trouble, he wouldn't be able to handle it alone. Even he was surprised with the amount of time that they had all showed up in.
"Hyung you can't just do that!" Taehyun yelled in relief, his voice cracking as he turned to rest his head on the wall, pounding his fist on the tough bricks. He'd thought Soobin had been seriously hurt or killed or something.
"(Y/N)?" HueningKai asked, his sleep fogged brain having experienced too much confusion in the last few minutes.
"Hello," you responded, gently lifting your hand in an awkward waving gesture, not quite sure what was happening.
HueningKai's brain may have been sleep fogged, but he knew complete and total relief when he felt it. He stepped forward and didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around you, his hands clutching the back of your shirt. It was almost like he thought that if he let go, you would disappear again.
You were completely shocked when he pulled you in close, leaving no room in between the two of you. He pushed his face into the crook of your neck and you could feel him release a shaky breath of relief as your shirt bunched up in his clutches. You slowly brought your arms around him as well, resting them on his back. His breath hitched and his grip loosened. It was as if that gesture had assured him that you would still be there when he let go. He tightened the hug one last time relishing in the feeling of your presence that he had missed greatly. It was almost like he was assuring himself that you were actually there in front of him.
When he finally released from the hug, he was quick to cower from the gazes of his Hyungs. He moved back and allowed you to be the centre of attention once again, looking down the the floor to hide his embarrassment at such a raw display of his feelings.
"I'm running from someone," you told them, being very blunt about it. There was really no beating around the bush with this topic. Your life was on the line and they deserved to know. "My parents haven't told me too much about it other than the fact that it's my grandparents. I've heard some out of context bits about mental issues and me being born out of wedlock, so I can only assume the worst. I've been running for my whole life. Whenever my parents think that my grandparents are close to finding me, they always keep me inside. Just in case they find me. Heaven knows what'll happen if they do find me." You explained, surveying each persons reaction.
"Is that why your social media's are all blacked out?" Soobin asked, taking a small step forward.
"Yep. I don't really use social media's. One wrong move and I'm done for," you answered, a sure smile on your face that caused the others to share a look of confusion.
"Are the police looking for them?" Yeonjun asked, his brows furrowed in confusion as he looked to the floor, trying to think of every possible solution.
"Who knows," you shrugged.
"Why are you so nonchalant about this? Your life could be on the line! Every day you're out, you're risking everything!" Beomgyu asked, his voice unsteady.
Whenever he tried to empathize with a situation, he always wondered what he would feel like if his siblings were in that position. It always helped him understand the severity of the situation, and this situation filled him with worry and fear.
"Every time you've gone out with us, you could've been found or killed," Beomgyu reasoned, most definitely intending to go on with his tangent. Everyone could see how troubled he was.
"If that were the case then I've been risking my life for years. I make the conscious decision to go out and have fun and forget about every time I've had to hide or flee or starve because they've found us once again. I'm not gonna hole myself up in my house and wait until they find me. I wanna have fun. I'm a kid. I just need an escape. I need to forget," you explained.
A silence fell across the group as they all absorbed what you'd said. They all seemed to think about your words and none of them could come up with anything to say. That is, until Taehyun piped up.
"Then use us. We'll be your escape and you can be ours. Let's forget about everything together."
He seemed sure of his words as he glanced between each person in the group who seemed almost surprised by his blunt words.
"We all have things that we just wanna forget so let's just forget when we're together."