Hwang Hyunjin || Call My Name (Under Revision)

46. Melted away

HYUNJIN'S POV

I stepped outside after grabbing my padded jacket. Jeongin yelled, "Where are you going?" but I couldn't leave since I was so excited. She defined it as unique, so I was eager to find out why. She advised us just to meet at the park bench next to the neighborhood convenience shop.

As the snow fell, I jogged. Despite the extreme cold, I was glad to see snow. I arrived at the bench after 20 minutes, but she wasn't there yet. I sat down on the bench and peered up to see the snow falling down gradually. A snowflake attracted my eye, and I cautiously grabbed it. I regarded it while grinning.

She hadn't arrived after 30 minutes had passed. When I texted her to ask where she was, she didn't respond. After an hour had gone, she was still absent. I began to worry as I bombarded her with texts, but she never responded. I tried to call her multiple times without success. When I phoned Chan and Yuji to inquire if Yeona was with them, they both confirmed that she was not.

My thoughts turned to the possibilities that she had been harmed or that she had chose not to meet with me because she no longer loved me. I dismissed those ideas since I believed she wouldn't harm me in that way. Perhaps an incident occured at their home. I considered going to their home, but decided against it because anything that happened to their family was none of my business. I'll just give her some time alone.

With icy hands and disappointment, I made my way home. As I was walking, I noticed a couple holding hands and watching the first snowfall. I had no idea why they behaved that way. Yeona claimed that the first snowfall was special, but I was unsure of why.

*****
The morning came, and I got up at 5 a.m. as usual. I got ready and headed over to Yeona's house. I arrived there around 6:10 a.m. I told her I had arrived by SMS. I had strawberry milk in my hand and was leaning against the wall next to their gate.

The snow is visible everywhere. People had begun to dress in thick clothing and padding while clutching hot packs. I noticed that five minutes had already passed since I arrived when I looked at the time. When 6:30 am rolled around, she was still not here and hadn't texted to let me know if she was ill or needed anything.

I paced in front of their gate, debating whether or not to enter, but then the gate opened. I assumed it was Yeona, but it was her brother, Minho. He looked surprised to see me and closed the gate before walking towards me.

"What are you doing here?" Minho asked.

"Oh, I was expecting Yeona," I replied.

"Yeona? I thought she left already; I didn't see her this morning, so I assumed she left before I woke up," he explained.

"Wait, she didn't tell you? Are you guys fighting? " He suddenly asked as his tone started to get serious.

"No, no, I'm not sure why she didn't tell me," I explained, and he simply nodded.

" Okay, gotta go. Bye!" he exclaimed as he ran towards the bus stop.

I arrived at school just as the teacher was entering our classroom. As soon as I walked into the classroom, I looked for Yeona, but she wasn't there. As our teacher began to take our attendance, I walked to my seat.

"Yah, Hyunjin," someone said quietly to me. When I turned around, it was Yuji.

"Where is Yeona?" she questioned, and I gestured that I had no idea. The morning classes resumed as usual.

When lunchtime arrived, Yuji, Jisung, and I went to the cafeteria while discussing Yeona. They thought it was strange because Yeona doesn't do things like this, especially missing school. We went to find Chan. He looked at each of us individually, and I could tell he was looking for Yeona.

"She's not here," I explained as I sat across from Chan.

"What? Why? Where is she?" Chan queried.

"I'm not sure; she didn't text or call me; her brother suggested that she went to school early because he hadn't seen her this morning," I explained.

"Did you two fight?" Changbin wondered aloud.

"No? Why do people keep asking that?" I grumbled.

"Because it's the most logical explanation for why she's doing this," Jisung explained.

"Wait a minute, let me try to call her," Chan said as he dialed her number, but there was no answer.

"I'm starting to worry," I admitted as I looked down.

"Go to their house later and ask them about Yeona; something must have happened to her because she couldn't contact any of us," Chan said, and I nodded.

Chan, Yuji, and I went to Yeona's house after school. Chan rang the doorbell, and Yeona's mother let us in. She acknowledged us and let us in. She allowed us to sit on the sofa while she went to get us something to drink. She returned with three glasses of orange juice, which she carefully placed in front of us, and we thanked her. She sat across from us on the sofa chair.

"So, what brings you here?" she asked calmly as she sipped her drink. Yeona's mother's response gave me hope that she was okay.

"We've been attempting to contact Yeona, but she doesn't respond or pick up the phone," Chan explained.

"Wait, is she not at school?" their mother asked, stunned by the news.

"No, Ma'am," Yuji replied.

"Perhaps she's upstairs," she speculated.

We went up to her room, expecting it to be locked, but it wasn't. When we opened it, there was nothing inside. We looked around, and everything appeared to be normal.

"Wait, if she's not with you guys, does that mean she didn't come to school?" her mother wanted to know, looking at us one by one.

"We don't know either, Ma'am," I admitted.

Yuji had already gone home at 6 p.m. Only Chan and I remained. We were about to give up. Her parents were becoming concerned. They started calling Yeona's friends, but no one knew where she was.

"What's going on?" Minho asked.

"We have no idea where Yeona is," her mother said as she began to cry. Everyone was gloomy and worried when I received a phone call from Yeona!

I exclaimed, "Yeona is calling!"

I answered the phone, but it wasn't Yeona's voice; it was a man's.