The Quiet Boy

Chapter 16

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Two weeks had gone by and Taehyung still hadn't shown up to school. Now Jeongguk was sure something was wrong. Even the others had grown that weird feeling in their gut but none of them knew what to do.

All they could do was sit and hope that he'll show up and find out they were worried for nothing. Doing that caused their patients to grow extremely thin and their worry only grew larger.

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Jeongguk sat in class impatiently waiting for it to end. His head hung low and his fingers lightly gripped his hair as his left leg bounced at a rapid pace.

He paid no attention to what the teacher was saying or writing. His eyes turned towards his watch and then back to the desk. When he felt like he needed to relax he looked out the window but the thought of Taehyung came flooding back to his head and he repeated the actions he did before. He continued that cycle until the bell rung.

"Gguk-ie?" A girl whispered. "Are you okay? You seem upset."

"I'm fine." He told the girl with a fake sweet smile.

"Are you sure? You really do look upset."

"It's nothing." He looked at his watch.

"Gguk-"

"Why do you care?" He furrowed his brows, his voice coming off a bit harsh. "You don't even know me. You just know my name so stop acting like you care."

Seeing the girl's eyes wide in shock made him realize that he had just snapped at her for nothing. She was only asking if he was okay.

"Sorry." She looked down at her desk.

"Don't be. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so mean. I'm just stressed so please don't take what I said personally." He sighed.

"Its okay I won't." She told him.

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Quickly shoving his things into his backpack, he rushed out of the class and down the hallway. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to the others telling them that he won't be able to wait for them. Once he sent the text he slipped his phone back into his pocket and made his way past the school gates and off the campus.

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Jeongguk walked down the sidewalk looking at the familiar houses. He soon came across a specific house and saw a car parked in the driveway with someone sitting in the driver's seat.

He waited for a few seconds and an older man came out of the house and got into the passenger seat. The car pulled out of the driveway and drove off into the opposite direction of the way Jeongguk had walked.

Once the car had faded from eyesight he made his way towards the front door. Testing the doorknob, he then knocked in the door. "Tae." He called as he knocked. "Tae, are you there?" He waited a few minutes and knocked again. He grew anxious waiting. The thought of the possibility of Taehyung, not home came to his head but he still felt the need to find him. Jeongguk bit his lip and turned towards the window that sat feet away from the door. He knew what he was gonna do was wrong but the feeling was bothering him too much and he needed to see just in case to make sure.

He now stood in front of the window. He looked inside and saw a lot of empty beer bottle and cans. Besides that, he didn't see anything that was weird or stood out.

He put his hands on the clear surface, putting a little pressure down onto it, he pushed it to the left. To his surprise, it opened. He hoisted himself up over the window sill and into the quiet house.

"Tae?" he called but got nothing in reply. He left the living room and looked around. There were pictures that hung on the wall and had collected dust over time. He looked closer at them and realized they were of a couple. They looked so happy together. Their smiles were big and genuine and their eyes shined with joy.

The pictures gave off a completely different vibe than the house. They gave off a peaceful and happy vibe while the house gave a dark and unpleasant feeling.

He was going to head to another room but a specific picture caught his attention. It was of a young women laying down on a couch covered in a large blanket. She was obviously pregnant and she had a unique kind of smile. One that Jeongguk had seen before. It became more familiar when he saw how her eyes shrunk into a half circle.

The image of Taehyung laughing came into his head. The same smile and the same eyes. He made the connection and one thought went through his mind. Is that - his mom?

He pulled his attention away from the pictures. He called Taehyung's name again as he turned to his right and entered the kitchen. Seeing that it was empty along with the dining room, he left and headed down the hallway.

He checked the first door but closed it once he saw it lead to the garage. Continuing down the hallway he opened the door that led to a small room. Was this Taehyung's room? It was so empty.

It was nothing like a normal kids room. There was nothing but an old looking futon mat with a sheet in the far corner of the right side of the room. He turned and was met with a closet which was halfway open. There was only three shirts that hung up and two pairs of pants on the floor.

Being curious he looked inside to see if there was anything inside but it was also empty. This is all the clothes he has?

He stepped out of the closet and his attention turned to a small bundle of clothes that sat in the corner behind the door. He picked it up and saw that it was the sweater he had given to Taehyung. Why was it put in a spot like that? It made the bad feeling in his stomach grow. He hadn't seen Taehyung without it since he gave it to him.

Putting it back down he stepped out of the room and back into the hallway. He moved down to the door at the end of the hallway skipping the door next to Taehyung's thinking it was probably the bathroom. Seeing as there were only these two doors left there a chance he was right.

The first try of opening the doorknob told him it was locked. Turning the snib the door unlocked allowing him to be able to turn the knob. He opened the door and was startled to the point where he fell back. His heart was beating so fast and he felt a bit out of breath.

There sat Taehyung with his arms and legs pressed against his chest and his head low as his forehead laid against his knees. He was covered in bruises cuts and these weird scars and so many of them.

"T-tae?" he quietly called as he moved over to the boy. He grabbed his arm but quickly pulled his hand away. He felt so cold.

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