Sunrise [Yungi FF]

26. Déjà Vu

Yunho darted out onto the street huffing and swiveled his head left and right until he felt dizzy.

It was suicide. The haunting words replayed over and over in his mind, and each time it did his heart seemed to beat even quicker.

He chose a direction arbitrarily and started speed-walking. With sweaty hands, he pulled out his phone, dialed Mingi's number, and pressed it shakily against his ear. He mumbled under his breath, praying for Mingi to pick up, but a long beep sounded instead and bounced hollowly off the walls of his mind.

A terrible feeling twisted his guts, threatening to flip his stomach inside out. He was still deciding what to do next when he heard Jongho call his name.

"I'll look around this area," Jongho said reassuringly, "You should think of places Mingi might want to go."

Yunho nodded thankfully. As he watched Jongho jog off he decided to go to his house first. It popped up in his head and there was no time to think twice, so he followed his instincts and broke off into a run.

The sun hung high up in the sky like an oversized Christmas ornament. Everyone was sleeping in on the special occasion and the streets were quiet, though the extravagant decorations made them look more crowded than ever. 

Yunho ran past golden tinsels, plastic Christmas trees, colorful window stickers, and emerald green wreaths. No lights were on yet but the sun rays reflected off the smooth surfaces of bells and figurines, making the row of shopfronts sparkle and shine like trinkets on a bracelet.

Gradually the streets dimmed down and the world turned gray. Yunho turned into his neighborhood and felt as if his heart might jump out of his chest as he pushed open the gate that led to his house. He leaped up the stairs two at a time, keys ready in his hand. Still, he fumbled with the lock and the metal jangled frustratingly before the door clicked open. It was then that he realized Mingi couldn't be inside without breaking in, but he kept searching, unwilling to take any chances.

The house was chilling to the bone. It pierced through his numbed skin and sent shivers all over his body. Even the pain on his shoulder was dulled by the cold.

His heavy boots clunked against the wooden floor as he ran down the corridor and flung open doors, his shouts of Mingi's name fading into the air in small white puffs of steam. The porch was the last place he checked - he leaned over the railing and scoured the bushes behind it, but there was no one there.

Catching his breath, Yunho rushed out to the door again, leaving snowy footprints all over his empty house.

Urgency kept him going. Jongho hadn't called back yet, so Mingi had to be somewhere else. He went everywhere he could think of – Jongho's apartment building where they had the scuffle, the restaurant they had their first dinner together, the hiking spot where they watched the sunrise, the school Mingi worked at.

Each time he had to turn away, his heart grew heavier and his shoulder grew more rigid. The blood in his veins seemed to have frozen up and his mind was fuzzy as if frost had formed inside.

His sore legs were walking aimlessly now, towards an unknown destination that felt way too far away. Absentmindedly he tried phoning again, but despair had settled in and everything felt pointless.

The long bleats drilled into his ears as his restless pupils scanned his surroundings with desperation. When the sounds kept coming, a spark of hope ignited in his chest; it didn't cut straight to voicemail. His eyes landed on a fountain and some benches nearby. They looked familiar but he was too focused on the phone to find out why.