11/13
For some reason, Seungkwan thought the weather got a little hotter over the past two days. Of course, there was still a wind in the air, but it was a hot air. That wasn't the only weird thing though- the weather was hotter in fall and Vernon and Chan both suddenly disappeared.
"Shouldn't we be worried?" Seungkwan asked Jihoon during lunch that school day.
"We should, but what do we do?" Jihoon asked as he peeled a clementine. "If we go look for Chan and Vernon, we might just end up like them."
"Do you think they died?" Soonyoung asked carefully.
"Don't say that!" Seungkwan hissed. "Don't jinx it!"
"I'm honestly curious, though," Jihoon said. "Vernon and Chan both just disappeared without a trace! Something must have happened to them because they probably would have come back if they were simply lost. We've lived here for the majority of our lives! It would be impossible for us to get lost!"
"Unless we went into the forest," Junhui said as ate a spoonful of rice. "We always get lost in the forest."
The boys were silent for a second until Seokmin said, "That's because we go to the forest in the middle of the night. It's practically impossible to get lost at daytime."
They were silent again. They ate in awkward silence for about five minutes, Seungkwan looking up at the sun every minute or so. He felt a little on edge now that the sun was not laughing today. Maybe the sun was linked to Chan and Vernon disappearing? He sighed to himself and finished the food in his box, Seungcheol returning from his bike ride as the rest of the boys finished their lunch.
"Are you sure you aren't going to eat, Seungcheol?" Jeonghan asked as Seungcheol sat down with the group.
"Yeah, I'm not in the mood to eat," Seungcheol nodded. "I'll eat when class ends."
"What happened? Did you find them?" Seungkwan asked.
Seungcheol shook his head. "I visited Chan's mother and Vernon's parents. They haven't seen them at all. I also passed through the forest shortcut, but I still didn't see them."
"At least eat the rice ball," Jeonghan handed Seungcheol the rice ball. "You look like you're going to pass out. Jisoo, hand me that water bottle."
Seungcheol gratefully took the rice ball and water bottle. "Thanks," he said. "It's really hot today. The sun is killer."
"Did you guys notice the sun hasn't laughed at all today?" Minghao said quietly.
"Maybe that's why Vernon and Chan are missing," Seokmin trailed off.
"Guys, let's not say anything. For all we know, Chan and Vernon are probably just being rebellious," Wonwoo stood up and dusted off his pants.
The rest of the boys stood up as well and looked either at the ground or at the sun. The sun wasn't laughing. No one wanted to say anything, but they figured out that at least the sun laughing was a warning. It wasn't necessarily each boy for himself, but it was a silent, mutual agreement between the eleven of them; if they talked, the would die.
"Class is about to start," Seungkwan said softly.
The eleven boys picked up their garbage and headed back into the classroom. As Seungkwan entered the classroom, he couldn't help but continue to look at the lazy sun in the blue sky. Large clouds floated through the sky and around the sleepy sun, some even covering his face. Seungkwan couldn't help but wish the sun never laughed in the first place, but there was so much he could do. Hopefully the sun would never laugh again, and hopefully Vernon and Chan would return.
The shadows didn't intend on fulfilling his desires, though.
